Theatre company stages last ever production

The company created the Shop Front Theatre in the former Fishy Moores chip shop in 2010

A theatre company that has been operating in Coventry for more than three decades says its last ever show will be a very "special goodbye".

Theatre Absolute announced its final production, The Walking Man, will be performed at Coventry Cathedral on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 19:30 BST.

Based in Coventry since 1993, the company created the UK's first shop front theatre in the former Fishy Moores chip shop in 2010.

The firm told the BBC they were stopping production because it felt like the right time. The one-woman-show, written by Chris O'Connell and directed by Erica Whyman, will star Eastenders actor Clare Corbett.

Mr O'Connell said the pressure of trying to sustain an independent theatre company had become harder in current times.

He said: "We've felt we had to acknowledge the reality of that, which means we will sadly close the company with this final new work.

"However we're not going away. As artists in our own right, Julia and I won't stop listening to the city's communities and will continue to respond creatively through other future projects."

Julia Negus, producer at the company, said she was proud to have been part of a unique Coventry theatre company.

She added: "We hope to see some new and perhaps older, familiar faces in the audience. It's going to be a very special goodbye."