Next Friday night's special performance of The Pirates of Penzance (September 18), featuring cameo appearances from some familiar Richmond Theatre faces, will mark the historic building's 110th anniversary, writes Will Gore.

One person who is particularly looking forward to the occasion is the theatre’s 89-year-old archivist Norman Fenner, who first starting coming to the venue, when it was known as Richmond Repertory Theatre just after the end of World War Two.

The Fulham resident has been a regular ever since and was delighted to accept the role of theatre archivist in 1982.

“There was no archive at all to speak off back then,” says Fenner. “I went to the Local Studies Collection and was given great help by Jane Baxter. I looked at all the microfilm of the local paper – it used to give me a migraine – and I listed every show that has been on at the theatre.

“Someone started a list of the shows until 1912 so all the early ones were done for me and I did the rest from then on – it is amazing to see all the famous actors who have played here.”

Fenner developed his love for theatre as a youngster but chronic stage fright meant he was not cut out for life treading the boards.

Rather he became a scenery painter and, after leaving the army at the end of the war, spent many years with the amateur group Tavistock Repertory Company – a hobby that sat neatly alongside his day job, working as a civil servant for the Minister for the Arts.

Fenner later moved to the Science Museum before retiring at the age of 62, just as the opportunity to work at Richmond Theatre arose.

He now has an assistant in Richard Longhurst but Fenner is still going strong, leading members of the public on tours of the theatre once a month and answering numerous enquiries – what is it about the job that continues to inspire him?

“In 1982 when I retired I always said you must have an objective, you musn’t just sit in a chair and watch the television,” he says.

“I’ve enjoyed doing it and I’ve met a lot of people. When you get old it’s nice to mix with young people. If you just mix with old people you just get older and older yourself.”

See the RT2 in the coming weeks for more on Richmond Theatre’s anniversary. Visit rttimes.co.uk. for an interview with actress and patron Susan Hampshire.