Welcome to the People's Playhouse

And - borrowing another phrase from the reopened De La Warr Pavilion - the entrepreneur is promising plenty of 'variety' at the Western Road venue.

A grand opening is pencilled in for December 15.

Already 100,000 has been pumped into the refurbishment of the newly named Redstack Playhouse, to provide state of the art equipment and much needed building amendments.

Mr Cotterill (pictured) has also given clues as to the wide range of events being put on at the venue - with plans to make it much more than just a cinema. He said: "The schedule will be as exciting as it is varied."

Entertainment at the playhouse will include:

* Movies - blockbusters and classic films, with a free performance of a seasonal movie for people who register their interest at Mr Cotterill's Redstack restaurant.

* Opera

* Jazz

* A monthly comedy club

* Children's entertainment

* Tribute bands and military bands

Celebrity acts already confirmed include comedian Bobby Davro, X Factor star Tabby and controversial northern comic Bernard Manning.

"I know that he might not be everyone's cup of tea, but we do have something for everyone - truly the people's playhouse," said Mr Cotterill.

The final go-ahead for the grand scheme is reliant on the venue gaining an alcohol and extended hours licence today (Friday).

Mr Cotterill is hoping the finer details of the live acts - beginning at the venue from January - will be available to Observer readers soon.

The new - look venue will see three different levels of seating for many events; cinema seats, bistro style tables and 'ring-side' group tables.

The auditorium will also contain a bar and will serve food at many of the live performances.

Mr Cotterill aims to make the playhouse appeal to all groups. He has already confirmed offers such as tickets to the opera, plus a meal at his Western Road restaurant will be available.

Community organisations will be welcomed and he is prepared to rent the auditorium out to local amateur dramatic groups.

"It's all about having a really good product," said Mr Cotterill. "I've put a lot of time, money and effort into this and I really want it to be a success - I'm so excited.

"Everyone is welcome and if it's a nice place, with a nice atmosphere people will behave themselves."

The cinema owner stated he was "disappointed" that despite his efforts, film distributors had refused to give him the latest releases due to the nature of his business, but he pledged that top films will be shown.

"We will have a cinema club, where members can decide what sort of films they would like to have on, but we will also have a full cinema programme with access to just about every film ever made (which is not a new release).

"We can show everything from It's A Wonderful Life to Pulp Fiction."

Other plans include bingo and live World Cup football matches on the cinema screen.

Customers booking tickets at the Redstack restaurant will be entitled to discounts and be able to book specific seats.

He also plans for the playhouse to co-exist with the De La Warr Pavilion and usher in a new era of entertainment and arts in the town.

Mr Cotterill said: "It's actually a pipe dream of mine to one day have some sort of Bexhill festival like they do in places like Brighton.

"This building is actually older than the De La Warr and we have tremendous history and culture in the town so, yes, we do compliment the pavilion."