A SUMMER theatre has received a £10,000 boost which will help multiple projects in time for its 80th anniversary.

Frinton Summer Theatre has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant which will fund the publication of a book called Frinton Summer Theatre: 80 Glorious Years.

It will be sold to raise funds for the theatre, which is a charitable trust.

The grant will also be used to create a digital theatrical archive and to update the theatre’s website.

Author and historian Jacey Dias, one of Frinton Summer Theatre’s trustees, is researching and writing the book.

She is working with members of the Frinton and Walton Heritage Trust and theatre students from Essex University.

She said: “Not only have we been able to delve back into newspaper archives, but I have been interviewing famous actors, such as Lord Julian Fellowes and Sir Antony Sher, who first started their careers at Frinton.

“Some of them are sending me memorabilia from their own personal collections and telling some wonderful stories about their time at Frinton.

“Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this project will enable these stories to come to life for the first time to a wide readership.

“The project will also help build a better picture of the role of summer repertory theatre in the whole landscape of theatre in the UK and hopefully raise awareness nationally of the need to help fund small regional theatres like Frinton.”

Clive Brill, the theatre’s producer, said he is excited about the launch of this important book.

“It will put Frinton Summer Theatre on the map as the longest running Summer Repertory Theatre in the UK.

“I’m delighted so many local people are helping Jacey in compiling this history and coming forward with their own memories and collections of memorabilia.”

MP Giles Watling, whose father Jack Watling ran the theatre for almost 30 years, said he is delighted the fund is facilitating the project.

Mr Watling, who acted and directed on the stage in Frinton himself, said: “Our intention of the group is to educate MPs on the role and benefits of the theatre and a recorded history of Frinton Summer Theatre will be an important aspect of that education”.