The Playhouse bar will remain open as refurbishment work gets underway in the auditorium to give it a deep clean for the autumn.

Open since December 1995, the theatre routinely closes its doors over the summer, but this year it will see a £75,000 refurbishment to the floors and seating which have seen wear and tear over the last 22 years.

The auditorium will close on Monday (July 10) for six weeks, before reopening for its September programme.

Over the six week period of closure, the theatre will benefit from a refresh of fixtures, fittings, and technical improvements, all designed to enhance our audience's experience.

The refurbishment includes a cosmetic overhaul with new carpets and more comfortable seating. The seats will be refitted with fresh foam and newly upholstered, but capacity, lay-out and visibility will remain the same.

The Control Room will be updated with a new window to improve working conditions for the technical team and help enhance the quality of live music and interactive shows for the audience.

Playhouse Director Caroline Richardson said: 'Everything has started to somewhat need some help and encouragement. Some of this is because we are revelling in our own success.

'We have a lot of seats and carpets whcih have become a bit worn over the years so we are going to refit and recover them all, taking the carpet up and redoing the floor underneath.

'It is going to look fantastic.

'In September we have one of the biggest brochures we have had. We are not going to change prices or change the number of seats. We have as many seats as we can cram in there.

'We are also going to do a high rise clean to all the green pipe work which holds up the lighting structure, whcih hasn't been cleaned in 20 years.

'The bar is not shutting, it will stay open completely and utterly.

'Norwich is so lucky to have all these wonderful venues. We are so rich in what we have got and it is so important to keep the structures of these buildings going.'