The Government was today drafted into the fight to help save the troubled Palace Theatre.

Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, was handed a 6,000-strong petition by Southend West MP David Amess demanding funding for the Westcliff venue.

Forty-two staff were made redundant on March 13 as the theatre closed for refurbishments.

However, campaigners fear the closure could be the final curtain for Southend's oldest theatre.

A cut in funding from the Eastern Arts Board is just one of a number of factors that has put the theatre on the brink.

The Palace board has vowed the show will go on with a reopening date pencilled in for December under a new management team - possibly a private company.

Mr Amess told the House of Commons he wanted a commitment from Mr Smith that the pressure would be brought to bare on the arts chiefs.

He said: "We desperately want proper funding from the Eastern Arts Board to ensure that the Palace remains open as a production theatre.

"Ipswich (theatre) has received £320,000 and Colchester has been given £230,000, whereas the Palace has been given just £48,000.

"The petition requests that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State to take steps to ensure that theatres like the Palace stay open."

Campaigners said the petition was now their only hope of keeping the theatre open as a community venue.

Philip Giles, chairman of the Action for the Palace Theatre Group, said: "I think this is the last step we can take - I cannot see where else we can go."

The nine-month shutdown is ostensibly for refurbishments.

With the theatre £20,000 in the red, seven management companies have been selected to draw up proposals for the future running of the theatre.

The plans are likely to include a mix of in-house and touring shows put on by professionals and amateurs.

However, the action group fears the venue's 86-year-old tradition of hosting shows written by a resident director and featuring local actors could go.

Mr Giles said: "A lot of our shows are community theatre and we have a lot of links with local children and actors. We fear it will be the end of small-scale productions."

An announcement on the new board is expected to be made next month.

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