A STRONG showing of Esperance Theatre Guild Members turned out to the Bijou Theatre on Sunday morning, June 27, to get rid of some old furniture that was past its ‘use by’ date.

One-hundred-and-forty chairs were pulled apart by 25 people over three hours and sent to be re-upholstered for the first time in 36 years.

Esperance Theatre Guild president, Chris Greenwood, said the move to re-upholster the chairs had been on the cards for some time now, however with assistance from a Shire grant, it was finally made possible.

All the seats will be re-upholstered locally and the nameplates that adorned the back of each seat will be replaced when the chairs are re-installed.

The seats will be rebuilt and slightly widened and put back into the Bijou Theatre before the end of the year, giving theatre-goers attending the end of year production the first chance to try them out.

Originally, the Esperance Theatre Guild were hoping to use this time to have a builder re-stump the theatre, as the foundations are beginning to sag, however this will now take place at some stage next year.