After 103 years, the town’s Spa Pavilion formally closed its doors today as a venue for seafront entertainment.

The cast of the panto Aladdin bid a final farewell as their run in the historic building came to an end.

Uncertainty now surrounds its future as supporters cling to the hope that a new operator will take over the theatre.

In January last year it was announced that Suffolk Coastal’s decided to axe the �240,000-a-year subsidy paid to the theatre management company to run the venue.

Property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle have been appointed to sell the freehold of the 892-seater seafront venue, which could be taken over by another theatre operator or perhaps converted into another attraction or a mix of tourism-related uses.

Sylvia Lowe, director of the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company, said: “It is just so sad – I am devastated. We never believed this could happen.”