Many of the seats at Worcester’s Swan Theatre have small plaques inscribed with the names of their sponsors.

Many of those generous folk are now being invited to sponsor them all over again, at £100 a time.

New seats are being installed as part of the theatre’s refurbishment, replacing the ones that have been there since the opening in 1965. An £85,500 grant from the Monument Trust has made the work possible, coinciding with replacing the asbestos-laden roof and installing air-conditioning.

Director Chris Jaeger says that seats sponsored in the past three years will have their plaques transferred to the corresponding new seat – but anyone wishing to renew an older sponsorship or sponsor a new seat will be welcome.

The Swan is due to reopen in June. Potential sponsors are asked to contact Chris Jaeger on 01905 726969.

* Sutton Coldfield’s Tudor Musical Comedy Society has held auditions for its West Midlands première of The Likes of Us, the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical written in 1965 but not performed until 2005, when a production was staged at Lloyd Webber’s Sydmonton Festival on his Hampshire estate.

Amateur rights have been released, prior to professional release and eventual West End production. Tudor’s version will be at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, from September 28 to October 3.

* Coleshill Operatic Society’s 42nd Street, at Solihull Library Theatre, celebrates the group’s 100th birthday. Next Wednesday, members hold their annual meeting – but before that, on Monday, rehearsals begin for HMS Pinafore.

* Kidderminster’s Nonentities are looking for a ship’s lifebelt for this month’s production of April in Paris.

Perhaps they should pretend that they’re going to stage Anything Goes – just as long as somebody turns the lifebelt round so that it does not proclaim SS American. Otherwise, likely lifebelt lenders should ring 01562 743745.

* WHAT’S ON

* Treehouses, Fellowship Players, Grange Playhouse, Walsall (to Saturday).

* Thérèse Raquin, Sutton Arts Theatre, Sutton Coldfield (to Saturday).

* 42nd Street, Coleshill Operatic Society, Solihull Library Theatre (to Saturday).

* Thoroughly Modern Millie, TAB Operatic Society, Brierley Hill Civic Hall (to Saturday).

* Abigail’s Party, Enville Street Dramatic Society, St Thomas’s Church Hall, Stourbridge (to Saturday).

* Fur Coat and No Knickers, Lichfield Players, Lichfield Garrick (to Saturday).

* Bazaar & Rummage, St John’s Players, Norbury Theatre, Droitwich (to Saturday).

* Talking to Terrorists, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham (to Apr 11).

* HMS Pinafore, Great Witley Operatic Society, Rose Theatre, Kidderminster (April 2-4).

* Two, Blue Orange Theatre, Barlow Theatre, Langley (April 2-4).

* Mr & Mrs Constable and the Voice Catcher, Swan Children’s Theatre, Huntingdon Hall, Worcester (Saturday).