James Acaster urges council to save Kettering venue for homecoming gigs

James Acaster was due to play four dates at the Lighthouse Theatre in Kettering

Comedian James Acaster has urged a local council to save a leisure venue from closure

Kettering Conference Centre, which houses the Lighthouse Theatre, is set to shut on 31 May.

In a statement on Thursday, the venue said it was "no longer financially viable and cannot continue to operate".

Acaster said he would like perform his upcoming Kettering shows in "a quite special venue to me" in video posted on Facebook.

The 38-year-old was due to perform a four-night homecoming stint at the theatre in August.

Tickets for the performance sold out within hours of going on sale and caused the ticketing website to crash.

The comedian urged people to sign an online petition to save the centre.

More than 10,000 have already put their names to it and Acaster said it would be "wonderful world" if the venue could be saved.

"Some very good people have started up a petition trying to get the council to save the venue, to step in," he said.

Acaster said he had grown up going to gigs at the venue, adding "from the selfish point of view I would like to do some Kettering tour dates" in the Lighthouse Theatre.

• James Acaster runs hometown school comedy course

• Was 2016 the greatest year ever for music?

• Comic capers of four British comedians stuck in New York

The conference centre, which also houses the Balance Health Club and Arena Sports Centre, is leased from the landowner by North Northamptonshire Council.

Its Conservative deputy leader Helen Howell said: "We are keen to ensure that arrangements are put in place so that services can be restored at the facility as quickly as possible."

Acaster previously backed a bid to save Kettering theme park Wicksteed Park when it went into administration, with the venue later reopening.

The comedian is known for his Netflix stand-up specials, appearances on Would I Lie To You? and Mock The Week, as well as the Off Menu podcast with Ed Gamble.

He is also due to star in the new Ghostbusters film, which is out later this year.

Born and raised in Kettering, Acacster often talks about the town in his stand-up comedy and regularly returns.

He recreated Wicksteed Park in meringue on The Great British Bake Off as his "happy place".