A PLYMOUTH man's call for the city council to step in and re-open the Athenaeum Theatre has found support among amateur dramatic societies.

Fred Sharpe, from Plymstock, said he always enjoyed going to the Athenaeum, which provided reasonably-priced theatre entertainment in a venue easily accessible to everyone.

Now Mr Sharpe, 59, has started a petition on the Number 10 Downing Street website calling on the council to speed the re-opening of the theatre for the benefit of the city and surrounding area.

"I know they haven't got money for everything but they seem to find it for other things," he said.

The financially-troubled Athenaeum Theatre closed at the end of July this year, leaving dozens of organisations such as amateur dramatic groups having to find new venues for their performances.

Mr Sharpe, who also campaigned against the closure before it happened, said: "The longer the theatre remains closed the less likely it is to re-open."

The Athenaeum remains open as the home to the Plymouth Athenaeum Society, a 200-year-old members' group of people interested in the arts and sciences which leases the building from Plymouth City Council. The society used to hire out the 340-seat theatre to other organisations, but said the theatre ran at a loss of £50,000 a year due to staffing and insurance costs.

A council spokesperson said yesterday: "We simply do not have the resources to 'step in' to run the Athenaeum, which is not a council-run venue.

"Our arts unit is currently compiling a guide for theatre companies detailing stages which are available in the city including stage sizes, technical spec and auditorium size. We also hope to extend this to consider more unusual spaces such as community centres and facilities in our schools and colleges.

"Plymouth City Council is a keen supporter of the arts and contributes funding to the Theatre Royal, the Pavilions and the Barbican Theatre. "

But Mr Sharpe's petition has found support among amateur dramatics groups, who said the Athenaeum could be made more financially viable if it were better advertised and the box office opened for longer hours.

Wendy Holmes, chair of the Wranglers Theatre Company, said this year her children's company was performing a Christmas show at Lipson Community College's new theatre, but it was not the same. "It's absolutely outrageous that the Athenaeum closed," she said. "It's a perfect community theatre.

"It's so sad. I'm appalled by the lack of interest the council has shown."

She said performing in a real, full-sized theatre provided young actors with a valuable experience that built confidence and would be beneficial whether or not they chose a career in acting.

David Bailey, the chairman of the Touchwood Musical Company, said: "I think it's disgraceful that it closed down in the first place."

He said bids had been made by other parties to run the theatre but nothing came of them.

The petition can be seen and signed on the website http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/helpathenaeum/ and Mr Sharpe suggested that people could also write to the council if they did not have access to the internet.