Prim-Raf Theatre

The Prim-Raf seats 58, which makes it one of the smallest theatres in Cornwall and the opposite end of the scale from Hall for Cornwall and its 1,354. It sits on Biscombes Lane, behind the main street in Callington, and it is run by the drama society that owns it.

The name is a merger. On 12 October 1949 a joint meeting was held between the Parent-Teachers Association of Callington Primary School and the local branch of the Royal Air Forces Association, with a proposal to combine their two drama groups into one. Prim from the first, Raf from the second. The society later became Callington Amateur Drama Society and registered as a charity for the advancement of education in the performing arts.

The building came later. A sub-committee negotiated with its owner, Maurice Biscombe, and the purchase completed on 15 March 1965. The premises sat at the rear of Central Drapery: a large upstairs room with storage below, plus an adjoining block with garages underneath. The society has been converting and running it ever since.

Three productions go up each year - a pantomime, a spring show and an autumn show - alongside visiting events and hires. At 58 seats, shows sell out and booking ahead is the norm rather than a precaution. Tickets are handled through the society’s website.

Callington is inland in east Cornwall, on the A388 between Launceston and Saltash, so this is a village-theatre evening rather than a seaside one. If you want the other extreme of Cornish theatre architecture, Sterts is a canvas-covered amphitheatre 10 miles west on the edge of Bodmin Moor.