A LETTING agent believes he has found the perfect location for a new “bohemian and stylish”

theatre venue.

Roger Kay said he has found a new venue for his Pretty Villain production company in a grade II-listed former school and nightclub in Dyke Road, Brighton.

The new venue, Rialto, will also provide a permanent home for The Treason Show which has suffered multiple setbacks in finding a long-term venue.

Mr Kay said that the venue’s opening has been delayed by squatters who caused significant damage during a three-day occupation in September.

The building was originally built in 1867 for the Swan Downer School but has most recently been home for a number of nightspots, including Club Twenty-Four and, most famously, Fossie’s, owned by Albion stalwart Steve Foster.

It will have an art deco-themed bar called Bacall’s, doubling as a second venue.

The 80-seater main drama venue will be flexible enough to become an in-the-round venue or a music venue – potentially as a 2016 Great Escape location.

After refurbishment costing tens of thousands of pounds the venue is set to open on November 26 with The Treason Show, followed by Pretty Villain’s production of new play Reno on December 16 for five nights.

Mr Kay said: “We want to be a showcase for bright, new talent.

“I feel there is a large bohemian audience in Brighton and Hove and if we can meet that need by putting on something bohemian and stylish in our own venue where the quality is always high then people will come.”

Mr Kay added that winning an Argus Angel for a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at this year’s Brighton Festival inspired him to find his own venue.

He said: “It made me think if we had our own permanent venue then nothing would stop us.”