THE Lighthouse Theatre opens today – six months after the curtain came down and it went into lockdown.

Supporters of the Poole arts centre will be able to watch a short film celebrating the reawakening of the building; musicians from the resident Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra return to rehearsals in the concert hall; while the centre's Beacon Cafe will also open.

The ticket office and the foyer area will also be open to the public.

On Thursday the Lighthouse's cinema will start showing films again – and on Saturday a new programme, Lighthouse Outside, gets underway.

This comprises of four outdoors live performances in the amphitheatre to the side of the building.

Then, on October 2, live indoor live performances are set to return with the musical love story Magellan Circumnavigation, written and performed by Poole composer Bob Whitley with Lee MacKenzie.

The opening comes shortly after the launch of the arts centre's Bridge The Gap fundraising campaign, which since last Friday has already raised nearly £2,500.

Lighthouse fundraising manager Tom Shallaker said: "We already knew our supporters are incredibly generous, but their response to the Bridge The Gap campaign has been absolutely amazing.”

The venue earns more than 80 per cent of its income from people coming to see shows and spending money on tickets, drinks and refreshments.

That income was wiped out overnight when Lighthouse closed its doors on March 17 to help fight the spread of Covid-19.

Emergency funding from Arts Council England has provided a vital lifeline and supporters have continued donating during lockdown, but with full audiences still unable to return the organisation launched the Bridge The Gap campaign to support its on-going appeal to help it get through the current situation.

Tom said: "There is a significant gap in our funding between now and the moment we can welcome back audiences without social distancing.

“The campaign is called Bridge The Gap and the request is simple – we’re asking our loyal supporters and customers to give what they can to help us survive the next few months and ‘bridge the gap’ to a better time when we can again welcome capacity houses in our performance spaces.

“We are extremely grateful for everything that has been done, but there is more work to do and I’m sure the community will rise to the challenge and help us bounce back stronger than ever.”

Saturday's first Lighthouse Outside bill includes Comedy Club 4 Kids, at 2pm, and then a headline performance from Mischa and his Merry Men, supported by Chris Payn and Becoming Branches.

Visit https://youtu.be/D14Gm_-Y9yI to view the film marking the art centre's return.