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Webcast will be online: Friday at 7.30pm
Saturday at 2pm, 5pm & 7.30pm
Sunday at 2pm, 5pm.

East 15 Acting School and the University of Essex will celebrate the opening of the new Clifftown Theatre and Clifftown Studios in Southend-on-Sea.

The University of Essex has bought and completely refurbished and redesigned, in conjunction with architects Thomas Ford and Partners, the interior of a major church in the city centre. At the same time the school will unveil itself, after two and a half years of development and restructuring and major new building work, in its new identity as one of the largest schools in the UK, with the most dynamic, forward-looking actor and director and filmmaking profile in the UK.

With over 650 students, 14 different training degrees and students from all over the world, the school is combing its renowned past traditions with far-reaching and diverse methods of training and professional preparation in acting for stage and camera, theatre directing, technical theatre and filmmaking.

Instead of the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony there is a massive theatre performance over a complete weekend. The project will involve over 250 actors from East 15, the entire technical department, 10 theatre designers from Wimbledon School of Art and Design in London and 10 directors, led by Leon Rubin, Director of East 15.

The performance will take place simultaneously in all areas and studios of the extensive new Clifftown Studios and Theatre, working in numerous performance zones. Each zone contains performances concerning characters and narratives from many of the cultures and moments in history that have led to the creation of the Britain we have today.

The zones focus on the Romans, Jewish, Irish, Caribbean, Chinese, Soviet, East European, Huguenots, Pakistani and other groups of asylum seekers, immigrants over the centuries. The audience can wander freely through the many worlds and cultures encountered in performance throughout the building.

The development of The Clifftown Studios & Theatre and The Gateway Building has been made possible as a result of investment by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), through its Investing in Communities programme run by the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership (TGSEP). Funding was also granted by the Homes and Communities Agency, working with Renaissance Southend Ltd.