The Little Theatre That Could

When thinking of comedy and Chorley you probably jump straight to the crass slogan attributed to its local radio station by Bolton’s favourite memory bank Peter Kay in his show Phoenix Nights. And though Mr Kay may still be plumbing the same depths he always has, it's Chorley and indeed its Little Theatre that has taken great strides in reinventing itself as a comedy fan’s paradise, booking acts that might not even play in Manchester or Liverpool into a theatre with a 236 capacity simply because they like to play there.

In May, John Bishop did a five-night run at this little playhouse, the aggregate of these five sell out shows still just over half of the capacity of the Preston Guild Hall. Richard Herring often eschews the big city gigs, preferring to do one-offs at clubs such as The Frog and Bucket when in Manchester, but still heads to Chorley Little Theatre whenever he tours the country because of the good audience and intimate surroundings of what is a proper old-fashioned theatre. Chorley Little Theatre’s Ian Robinson describes Herring as their "good luck charm," as, once he was booked, the rest came knocking. And then knocking again. Robinson explains that "because there’s limited space for comedy, I get to choose what I actually like." Thankfully, Mr Robinson has great taste; in the last month both Mark Steel and Robin Ince have performed. "I’m not sure if Chorley is entirely ready for Robin Ince, but I just put him on anyway. This [was] his third time playing here."

Starting life in 1910 as a cinema, Chorley Little Theatre was one of many picturehouses in the small Lancashire town, but it stood out from the pack with its pioneering use of 3D films back in the 1950s. With the advent of television, though, cinemas across the country struggled, and in the 1960s the Chorley Amateur Dramatics and Operatic Society (CADOS) took over the theatre to stage plays, musicals and indeed operas for those looking to leave the gogglebox in their front room.

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"I’m not sure if Chorley is entirely ready for Robin Ince, but I just put him on anyway" – Ian Robinson

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It wasn’t until March of 2009 when the roof of the pre-Great War building came in that the volunteers of CADOS had to reconsider their business model. Closing for three months, it was CADOS's chairman, the aforementioned Ian Robinson, who had the brainwave of introducing comedy to the theatre and indeed to Chorley (there is no comedy club at present in the town; fans have to make the trip to Preston Guild Hall to get their fix). In this way they hoped to squeeze in more shows around the six or seven plays CADOS puts on throughout the calendar year. Also, comedy doesn’t take much setting up. All they’d need was a stage and a mic, as opposed to the 250 technical cues of the theatre's recent stage production of The 39 Steps. After Richard Herring was in, word started to creep around the comedy circuit about this great little gig in Lancashire. Chris Ramsey, Alex Horne, Greg Davies, Jenny Eclair and many more have all been privy to the amazing rider of ice cream and Chorley cakes.

Due to the volunteer-run nature of the venue, it seems very much like a family affair, with a welcoming vibe that is more accommodating to new ideas than one would think when picturing a small town in the heart of Lancashire. This summer sees Chorley Little Theatre putting on Edinburgh preview shows for the first time, with a wealth of talent heading to the town. "It’s a great venue for long form story-telling, so works much better for full hour-long shows than just short sets," Robinson says. Testing the waters of Central Lancashire, and their Edinburgh Fringe pieces, are Dan Nightingale, Joel Dommet, Carl Hutchinson, Andrew Lawrence, Fin Taylor, Gavin Webster and James Acaster (who, after having his 2013 Fringe appearance cut short by back problems, will certainly be one to catch) – a veritable who’s who of the new wave of UK comedy.

Also previewing their Edinburgh material are a sketch act you may have heard us banging on about in the past, Gein’s Family Giftshop. Robinson isn't sure how their dark and despicable skits will go down with the Chorley crowd, but after telling him they have been likened to masters of the mirth-macabre The League of Gentlemen, Robinson is more than sated, telling us that founder member of the League Steve Pemberton made his first appearance on that very stage in a 1993 production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Seems Chorley has been promoting great comedians for longer than we realised.