ONLY half the people who watch performances in the Octagon actually live in Bolton. It means that theatre bosses are constantly striving to get more people interested in the theatre, with emphasis placed on a varied programme. While 50 per cent of those who pay to watch the Octagon's plays are Bolton folk, 23pc more hail from the Greater Manchester area and the rest live even further afield. The theatre's good reputation has earned it regular visits from art lovers who live as far away as Leeds, Chester and even Carlisle.

But box office sales are falling in theatres around the country and the Octagon is no exception.

Barry Wood, chairman of the theatre's board, said: "Audiences are falling throughout the theatre world and Bolton is just the latest to be hit by this."

The theatre's bosses have welcomed a surge of interest in its current production, The Wizard of Oz, which it is estimated will have pulled in 20,000 people by the end of its run. It means the Christmas production has pulled in five times as many people as some other productions staged in recent years. The Pitchfork Disney attracted just under 4,000 people, while The Mikado drew in 5,800 and 4,400 watched Candida. Annie and Fanny, staged in January, proved popular with an overall audience of 8,800. But theatre bosses were at pains to stress the layout of seating could affect audience numbers.

Plays shown 'in the round' had a capacity of 416, while an alternative seating layout only had a maximum of 334 seats.

Amanda Belchman, the Octagon's administrative director, said: "We attract people from a large area because Bolton has a good motorway network close by. There are so many different factors which can affect box office receipts, from the weather to even the World Cup."

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