A PERFORMANCE of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita brought the curtain down on a theatre in Widnes.

Cronton Sixth Form College’s Centre Stage Theatre held its final show when performing arts students gave a rendition of the hit musical.

The theatre is now set to be replaced by the new 320-seat Cronton Playhouse.

Scheduled for its grand opening later this year, the Cronton Playhouse will become the new home of the college’s centre of excellence for the performing arts.

But students gave the Centre Stage Theatre a fitting send-off as they ‘rose to the occasion and had the audience on their feet’.

Evita tells the story of Eva Peron, from her beginnings in the poverty-stricken town of Los Toldos in rural Argentina to her rise and becoming the country’s first lady.

A sold-out crowd enjoyed performances - including lead roles from Elsie Gaia as Eva, Marcus Cameron as Che and Connor Evans as Juan Peron.

Matt Plant, head of the centre of excellence for the performing arts, said: “The centre of excellence for performing arts has spent eight wonderful years at the Centre Stage Theatre, and Evita was a perfect way to complete that time.

“Evita can be a hard musical to produce, but as always the students were fantastic onstage and we were very proud to end our time at Centre Stage with this extraordinary show.

“All attention now goes to our forthcoming project of the Phantom of the Opera to officially open the new Cronton Playhouse.”

Tickets for the Phantom of the Opera, performances of which take places on December 13 and 14, are now available by calling 0151 257 2032.