A BOARDED-up art deco theatre could soon make a dramatic comeback as a trendy flats complex.

Teesside developers Jomast Construction Limited wants to revamp Stockton's Globe Theatre by adding a basement bar, shops and 15 apartments.

The multi-million pound development would also see the 2,000-capacity theatre reduced to 750 seats.

If given the go-ahead by Stockton Borough Council's planning committee, the scheme would be the latest in a long-line of facelifts for the building at the north end of the High Street.

The Globe began life as a cinema in the early 1900s, but was transformed into the art deco style building.

It staged plays, opera and ballet as well as some of the biggest pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s including The Beatles and the Bay City Rollers.

By 1977, it had become a Mecca bingo hall and stayed that way until Rank moved to new premises in the late 1990s. Since then, it has remained boarded up.

A spokesman for Jomast said its plans would maintain the art deco theme of the venue.

He said: "It is a very fine listed building and we are seeking to start a very exciting project.

"We want to keep as much of the art deco as possible and hope to put the theatre to many good uses. The theatre part itself will have a reduced capacity of 750 because the old size was simply not viable.

"There will be a basement bar and several shops on the street front, as well as the apartments. With adjoining buildings it is a big site and we have plenty of room for all our plans."

Proposals to turn the theatre into a nightclub were withdrawn last year after objections from residents who feared the town centre would not have coped with another nightclub.

The new plans have also met some opposition.

Local historian Bob Harbron wants a traditional theatre to be maintained.

He said: "We live in a so-called enlightened age, yet Stockton doesn't have a traditional theatre. These plans will see the theatre just used for cabaret and stand-up - hardly in the great tradition of this once mighty theatre."