Exeter man first in queue at Sidmouth’s Manor Pavilion for Summer Play Festival tickets

KEEN followers of the Charles and Imogen Vance Summer Season of plays were champing at the bit on Wednesday, waiting for the box office doors to open.

First in the queue was a man from Exeter who was at the Manor Pavilion Theatre by 7.30am to ensure he got the seats he wanted.

He was soon followed by another man at 7.45am and from then on there was a steady build-up of patient theatre-lovers.

Tricia Barclay, company manager for the season of 13 plays on offer, said queues for the Charles Vance box office and the theatre events were getting intermingled.

“As there was a busy booking, with a large audience in the main theatre, we were down into the Arts Centre for the first day.”

New box office manager Jac Bevan was kept busy selling tickets and there were seats for those in the queue, together with tea, coffee and biscuits.

Tricia, who is also co-producing some of the plays, said the box office closed at 2pm but there were postal bookings and phone messages to deal with.

The first of the Vance plays is Terence Rattigan’s In Praise of Love, which opens on Saturday, June 25 and runs to Wednesday, June 29.

Other popular plays include No�l Coward’s Private Lives, Charlotte Bront�’s Jane Eyre and Richard Gordon’s Doctor in the House.