Frome Musical Theatre Company performs at the Frome Memorial Theatre and rehearses in the Assembly Rooms located just behind the theatre. The two company’s are very close, but they are two separate operations with two different controlling boards, The Frome Memorial Theatre Trust and the FMTC Executive Committee. The theatre is not only home to FMTC but also hosts a wide range of professional acts all year round. Take a look at what’s on here.
The Frome Memorial Theatre has evolved from a building that was originally known as the Memorial Hall, built in 1924 in memory of the fallen of the First World War. The funding for the building was raised from efforts by the general public in Frome and the surrounding area. In the 1920s and 1930s it was used primarily as a dance hall or place for meetings.
When films became popular in the 1930s, seats were installed, it was turned into a cinema and named ‘The Grand’. It was a thriving cinema until the 1970s when the impact of television kept away many cinema goers. Eventually, The Grand was closed as a cinema and the building was used for other purposes, mainly by FMTC (formerly Frome Amateur Operatic Society, FAOS).
In the early 1980s, the trustees of the Memorial Hall were under great pressure to sell the building to Mendip District Council for development. This was fortunately avoided due to pressure from the local community, the building became a theatre and over the past few decades has been fully equipped, capable of running a full programme of shows all year round.
