Heather Hacker said: "I first went to see a Theatre Royal performance when I was ten, in 1936. I saw a performance by the Ballet Rambert and I found it magical.

"From then on I was captivated by the theatre. Having been born in Africa I had never seen anything like it before. Brighton was a cultural oasis, epitomised by the Theatre Royal. I vividly remember Dorothy Tutin and Kenneth Moore in 'The Deep Blue Sea' by Terence Rattigan, who lived on Brighton seafront. Moore was the British sex symbol of the time.

"My husband had ME and I would take him in his wheelchair to see matinee performances at the Royal. I would take him to the stage door to meet stars. He was very keen on the British actress Joan Greenwood, famous for her sexy deep voice, and was thrilled to talk to her after a show.

"I love the theatre to death and just want it to carry on."

Cathy Barnett of Burgess Hill, said: "In the early 1980s I had booked to see an Alan Ayckbourn play at the Theatre Royal. My then husband couldn't make it, so I asked a male family friend to come with me instead.

"The day before the performance, I twisted my ankle but it didn't seem serious.

"We enjoyed the first act immensely and visited the circle bar for an interval drink. The bell rang to return to the stalls for the second act. As we hurried down the stairs my injured ankle gave way causing me to do a forward somersault down into the foyer where I banged my head and elbow as I landed. I can vouch for the solidness of the Theatre Royal walls.

"My friend, who rushed to pick me up, whispered in my ear 'It's okay you didn't show your knickers.

"As I sat dazed and bruised in the foyer, with staff fussing around me and all eyes upon me, my knickers were the last thing on my mind."

Estelle Rothstein said: "My mother and father married in 1909 and used to go regularly to the Theatre Royal.

"My mother used to make her own hats - very big ones like in "My Fair Lady", with large hat pins in.

"Once she was at the Theatre Royal the people behind asked her to remove her hat as they couldn't see. Unfortunately when she did, one of the hat pins stuck right through the seat of the person in front, giving them a very nasty shock."

Helen Hall said: "My paternal grandparents, Leslie and Irene Richards, who appeared under the stage name Irene Rae and Lesley Hollwood, performed as a musical song and dance comedy duo around the country, including the Theatre Royal Brighton in the 1930s, and entertained the troops during the war as part of ENSA."