Right in front of you, you'll spot a modern building with warm brown brick walls and a big sign that reads "the brewhouse," standing next to an older Georgian red-brick house-look left as you walk along the road, and you can’t miss it!
Welcome to The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Taunton’s beating creative heart! Imagine you’re standing right on the banks of the River Tone, listening to the gentle murmur of the water and catching the clink of coffee cups from inside the theatre’s café. Take in the sight of that sharp, modern brick building hugging the graceful old Brewery House-two eras shaking hands. But did you know, this very spot was once a hay field where cloth was stretched out in the sun to dry? Back then, it was known as Rack Hay, a name that sounds almost as comfy as the theatre seats inside. Over the years, this ground was a coal store, an orchard, and even home to the bustle of brewing ales as far back as the 1700s. Just imagine the lively shouts and rattle of barrels rolling into cellars!
By 1760, there was already a bustling brewery here, with malt houses, stables, and coal yards. The elegant old Brewery House right next to you-Grade II listed, for the history buffs-dates from this golden age of beer and barley. In the late 1800s, John Sloman of Stogumber Brewery essentially gave the place a makeover and renamed it the West Somerset Brewery. If you sniff the air, you might just imagine the ghost of hops and malt drifting by, mixing with today’s aroma of fresh paint and popcorn from the cinematic events. The Brewery House saw decades of change: breweries, social clubs (for hard-working electricity board types!), and lots of laughter.
Flash forward to the zippy 1970s: Taunton’s thirsty-for-art community, desperate for a creative home, snapped up the chance to turn the derelict site into something special. The Taunton Theatre Trust took the keys, and thus in 1977, the Brewhouse Theatre was born! Designed by local architect Norman Branson, who also lent his talents to the Merlin Theatre in Frome, the new building was thoughtfully matched to the old-warm bricks, concrete flair, a proper meeting of old and new. Picture the first night, with the lights blazing, the seats filled with anticipation, and the spirit of the place forever changed when their very first professional play, “The Norman Conquests,” starred an at-the-time totally unknown David Jason. There’s a fun bit of trivia: in the audience that night, did anyone guess that Jason would one day be a national comedy legend?
But beneath the applause lurked some drama. Over the years, arts funding rose and fell like a tide-sometimes buoying the theatre, sometimes nearly sinking it. In 2005, the Arts Council cut funding, so a new director was drafted: “Save the Brewhouse!” became the rallying cry. The stage even hosted Caryl Churchill’s once-controversial “Seven Jewish Children,” stirring up national attention.
When recession hit in 2009 and more funding vanished, the community stood strong. Crowds rallied, letters were written, and soon, £487,500 poured in via a “Sustain” fund, stabilizing the ship. Yet, just as everyone relaxed, local government dropped a dramatic twist: Somerset County Council cut every sip of arts funding. Curtains down-literally-the venue was forced to close and fell into administration in 2013.
Now here comes the hero’s return! By 2014, an independent group of passionate locals, the Taunton Theatre Association, rescued the stage. The doors reopened. The theatre was alive once more and soon buzzing with everything from pop concerts to puppet shows and thrilling cinema events. In 2015, a campaign called “Play Your Part” invited the entire town to chip in for new AV equipment. Sure, the goal was £40,000, and they only raised about £12,000, but this lovingly stubborn community pressed ahead anyway. By a twist of tenacity, a brand-new cinema opened in 2016-making Taunton just a tad brighter.
Picture it: the seats shaking beneath a live broadcast from London’s Royal Opera House, or the cheers as the National Theatre’s “HANGMEN” streamed here for the first time. Today, The Brewhouse is more than a theatre; it’s studios buzzing with actors’ warmups, gallery rooms glowing with artwork, and a Creative Hub under a saw-tooth roof bathed in light.
And even now, as funding storms seem to gather once again, the theatre remains full of promise, with shows booked deep into the future, the sound of tap shoes on a sprung floor, and a steadfast community refusing to let this story end on a sad note. The Brewhouse is not just a building, but Taunton’s living, breathing stage-where every laugh, every gasp, and every applause is an act of local pride.
