FRINTON Summer Theatre has taken centre stage in a new documentary.

The repertory theatre, which last year celebrated its 75th season, was featured in On Stage at Frinton Summer Theatre on BBC One on Monday night.

The documentary went behind the scenes of the theatre, based at the McGrigor Hall in Fourth Avenue, to see how it was coping during testing economic times.

Frinton has launched the careers of famous actors such as Sir Antony Sher, Lynda Bellingham, Vanessa Redgrave, David Suchet and Julie Christie.

Sir Antony, who appeared in the documentary, said: “It was a wonderful joyous way to start. I was both required to play big parts in all the plays and do stage management duties.

“And the work was exhilarating working at that rate.

“There were reps all around the country in every major city. A lot of them are gone.

“And really the best way to train as an actor in the real world, as opposed to training at drama school, is to do theatre.

“So thank God for places like Frinton that still exist.”

The documentary is narrated by One Foot in the Grave star and Frinton Summer Theatre patron Richard Wilson and also features the theatre’s new producer Clive Brill.

It is part of the BBC’s wider On Stage season looking at some of the country’s most iconic provincial venues.

The programme will be screened again on BBC Four on November 16 at 7.30pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.