Page "Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea" Paragraph 7

As a result in 1970 Southend Borough Council set up the Palace Theatre Trust which registered as a charity secured the task of establishing a repertory theatre in Southend.

Ray Cooney opened the theatre with a production of Spider's Web, and thereafter the repertory seasons were produced under three successive Artistic Directors: Tony Clayton, Leslie Lawton and Christopher Dunham, the last of whom spent over 25 years at the theatre.