For many years the Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl has been very fortunate to have enjoyed the support and commitment of The Friends of the Pavilion Theatre, a voluntary society, comprised of people from many walks of life, brought together through a passion for theatre and the arts. 

Through their fundraising, which has included numerous social events such as coffee mornings and quizzes, the Friends have been able to support the Pavilion Theatre in many aspects of their operations – promotion, stage management, technical and catering, to name but a few. 

Over the years, the Friends have sponsored various practical purchases, such as noticeboards and wheelchairs, and also funded larger items such as intelligent lighting, and stage curtains.  The theatre has also benefitted from their contribution to redecoration projects in the auditorium and dressing rooms.  Their invaluable support has not been entirely financial, however, and on many occasions, members of the group have volunteered to provide practical assistance in areas such as selling programmes or stuffing envelopes with flyers etc.  Since their inception, the Friends have done everything they can to promote the Pavilion Theatre.

Recently, the Friends group announced their decision that the Society would come to an end in December 2021.  Whilst this is very sad news in many respects, the Pavilion Theatre team can only express their gratitude for the many years of fantastic loyalty shown by the Friends.  The team is also delighted that many of the volunteers who have been part of the Friends group have decided to remain in their roles with the Theatre, and will continue to provide that all-important support.

Jamie Groves, Managing Director of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd said “Denbighshire Leisure Limited and particularly our team at the Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl would like to thank all Friends members, both past and present, for the fantastic commitment and hard work they shown over the years.  There is no doubt that the Friends have played a big part in building the Pavilion’s excellent reputation within the Arts world, and their presence behind the scenes will be very much missed”.

Dave Simmons, former Friends Chairperson said “Having made the difficult decision to disband The Friends of Pavilion Theatre group, it is with pride that we are able to look back on our achievements on behalf of the theatre.  As a hugely important asset to Rhyl and the wider Arts community, we are delighted that our work with the Pavilion Theatre has helped bring enjoyment to so many people, and also to help maintain the high standards for which it has become known.”

The Pavilion Theatre has a very active volunteer community and Denbighshire Leisure Limited fully intends this to continue.  We have a number of volunteer roles available, and anyone interested in becoming involved can do so by through our volunteer page on the website denbighshireleisure.co.uk/volunteering