A pop-up theatre is set to be launched in Banbury as an arts centre recovers from water damage to its auditorium.

The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury will launch the pop-up theatre at Woodgreen Leisure Centre amidst ongoing repairs to its auditorium, which are taking longer than was initially expected.

Mill Arts Centre has worked to relocate performances and events to the temporary location, which will operate from April 25 to June 30.

The Mill at Woodgreen will see the leisure centre’s indoor bowls hall transformed into a space for live performances.

Complete with full professional staging, sound, and lighting, the pop-up theatre will also boast a bar and offer free parking on site.

The centre said it was "grateful for the support of our landlords Oxfordshire County Council".

It also said it was "immensely grateful to the Woodgreen team and Cherwell District Council for their support in making this possible".

Describing live performance as the "lifeblood" of their organisation, Mill Arts Centre expressed both disappointment at the delays and excitement for the forthcoming pop-up.

Emma Hiorns, creative director at The Mill Arts Centre, said: "We are enormously grateful for the patience and support of our audiences whilst our team are undertaking the mammoth task of creating a full professional pop-up theatre in Woodgreen Leisure Centre.

"Our auditorium may be temporarily out of action, but we are thrilled to be able to go ahead with as many performances as possible at The Mill at Woodgreen and keep bringing world-class live performance to Banbury.

"Furthermore we are working closely with our landlords to ensure that we have the auditorium back up and running so we can welcome audiences back through our doors and enjoying live performance at The Mill again just as soon as possible."

While performances from July 1 remain scheduled for the original Mill venue, the vast majority of shows until the end of June will still run, but at the temporary venue.

Customers will receive individual updates regarding ticket arrangements from the box office.

Despite the challenges encountered with the main auditorium, other parts of the Mill building remain operation.

The venue's Cafe Bar continues to serve customers from 9.30am-4.30pm, Monday to Saturday, while sign-ups are still open for creative classes and workshops, which are also still running.

The Mill Arts Centre encourages audiences to support them by attending performances at the new venue and booking for shows later in the year.

Donations, class bookings and cafe visits are other means of support the centre suggested.