Comedy legends The Nimmo Twins are the opening act at revamped Norwich Playhouse

Norfolk comedy legends The Nimmo Twins are set to be the first act to take to the stage in the newly-refurbished Norwich Playhouse.

The St George's Street venue will reopen tomorrow night following a £70,000 revamp with a sold out run of The Nimmo Twins' show The Country Cords which runs until Monday.

The major refurbishment - the first since the theatre opened two decades ago - has included all the theatre seats being refitted and reupholstered, new carpeting and a new green colour scheme, and the modernisation of the control room with a new technical window to help enhance the quality of live music and interactive shows.

The Nimmo Twins' Karl Minns and Owen Evans said they were honoured to be reopening the venue they see as their second home.

About the theatre's new look, Karl said: 'It's lush and beautiful, it's got a lovely new car smell in here! You can't smell this at home but it's like being in a new car, it's like being at DFS! A lovely smell of carpets and new upholstry. It's lovely. It's a wonderful, wonderful space and it was long overdue for a refurbishment because it's one of the jewels in the crown of Norwich's theatre community this place.'

He jokingly added: 'Norfolk people don't like change so we don't know what the reaction is going to be on the first night. They're going to be going, 'tha wos blue now as green. I don't know wos goin orn!'

Anything and everything Norfolk is poked fun at in The Nimmo Twins' shows, and subjects in this latest version of The Country Cords show will feature everything from Norwich's roads to Holkham Beach to Abellio Greater Anglia.

When asked what people could expect from the show, Karl said: 'If you've been aware of Norfolk news and you know Norfolk people, this is the place for you to come along and laugh at your own attitudes and the attitudes of other Norfolk people. It's a celebration of everything Norfolk.'

The £70,000 revamp is Norwich Playhouse's first major refurbishment since the venue originally opened in 1995.

The work, undertaken by SJ Easter Upholstery and Reform Flooring, has been funded by the Theatre Royal Trust as part of a programme of building investments across Norwich Playhouse, the Theatre Royal and Stage Two.

Stephen Crocker, Norwich Theatre Royal and Norwich Playhouse chief executive, said: 'Over the summer months we've taken a little bit of time to give the Playhouse a little bit of a makeover...We really wanted to make sure that the comfort of our audiences is paramount and make sure that the auditorium matches the quality of the work we have on stage.'

He added: 'What better way to relaunch the refreshed auditorium than with Norfolk's very own Nimmo Twins who are absolutely sold out here and pretty much sold out up the road at the Theatre Royal in October. They are perennially popular, always hilarious!'

The Country Cords is at Norwich Playhouse from August 23 to 28. The show is sold out - call the Norwich Playhouse for possible returns on 01603 598598.

The Country Cords will be at Norwich Theatre Royal on October 13 and 14. To book tickets, visit www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk or call the box office on 01603 630000.

For the full interview with The Nimmo Twins see Thursday's Arts and Culture section of the paper.