THEY have played a vital supporting role at Nottingham Arts Theatre for nearly 50 years.
But, after more than 500 performances, it's time for the curtain to fall on a mainstay at the theatre over those five decades – the seats.
Theatre bosses want to raise more than £19,000 to refurbish each of the 320 seats at the venue, which have been in place since being donated from Derby Playhouse in 1963.
Volunteer Shirley Ellis, of Carlton, said: "Author Terry Pratchett sat in these seats when we did Wyrd Sisters, which is one of his Discworld books. He was quite delightful.
"Alan Sillitoe was also in the audience when we did his novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. The likes of Sherrie Hewson, Peter Bowles, and Sue Pollard have also come and gone through here."
She added: "I've been involved with the theatre for around 50 years and the seats when I first started were very much harder with wood around them.
"These current ones were definitely an improvement – the season ticket holders certainly thought so.
"We used to do anything between eight to ten productions a year, so the seats must have been used by audiences at more than 500 shows over the years.
"The seats have now seen better days and it would be nice for the future generations to do them up.
"It's a jolly nice theatre and a bit of old Nottingham that still exists."
The theatre, in George Street, has so far received more than £1,400 in donations since it launched a seat refurbishment fund over the summer.
That is enough to refurbish just 23 of the seats so far.
Theatre manager Peter Mayall said around £20,000 had been spent over the last 12 months in other schemes to spruce up the theatre.
He said: "We have upgraded all of the technical, lighting, and sound equipment.
"We have also painted the auditorium, and the seats are the next stage of the whole refurbishment.
"They have certainly served us well and they are all still useable but have seen better days.
"We are grateful for what the public have donated so far."
Mr Mayall added the there are also plans to refurbish the theatre's bar, which could cost a further £50,000.
He said: "We have a long, narrow bar area and we want to open that up during the day as a cafe and bar. As a charity, it would help our cash flows.
"We want to bring the theatre up to such a level so we can then start attracting bigger names into the theatre."
As part of the efforts to raise the required funds the theatre is offering its patrons the opportunity to sponsor a seat in the auditorium.
Donations are being collected in boxes around the theatre in the foyer and coffee bar.
Cheques can also be made payable to Nottingham Arts Theatre Ltd and sent to Seat Refurbishment Fund, Nottingham Arts Theatre, George Street, Nottingham, NG1 3BE.
Donations by credit or debit care can also be made by calling the box office on 0115 947 6096.
