Alan Murphy has best seat in the Customs House

Nov 29 2010 by David Whetstone, The Journal

ONE man who definitely won’t miss the Customs House panto is Alan Murphy. Larisa Brown meets the venue’s most dedicated fan.

THEY call him The Laughing Man – and just about everyone in South Shields should know exactly where to find him.

Seat A11 at the Customs House is rarely left empty, whether the act on stage is a pantomime, an opera, or a rock ‘n’ roll gig. In fact, for pensioner Alan Murphy, who spends many of his evenings in the front-row seat, it’s got to a pretty bad week at the theatre if he doesn’t attend.

The retired 65-year-old, born and raised in South Shields, is the theatre’s most valued customer. Records show that since 2001 Alan has been 725 times and the number just keeps growing.

Government cuts are hitting theatre companies but Alan is determined not to lose his entertainment centre.

By spending his pension each week on his much-loved leisure time, Alan believes he is helping the arts to keep going.

He does not like to do things in moderation either. On a “good week” Alan can rack up to £50-worth of theatre tickets, often seeing his favourite plays several times.

When the play Good to Firm was on, not only did he go to watch the play twice but he also went to a rehearsal.

Alan has been enjoying himself since 1995 when the Customs House first opened. He took his grandchildren.

He recalls: “My grandson used to have the most wonderful time. He would ring me up after school on a Friday and ask me if there were any shows on.

“We once went to see a Johnny Cash tribute band and he loved it.”

Now that Alan’s grandchildren, Mark, Richard and Samantha, are a little older, the retired shipyard blacksmith goes alone to the theatre.

But if the grandchildren ever decide to come, Alan has a seat waiting for them.

The Customs House Name your Seat scheme has enabled Alan to purchase plaques and dedicate them to his family members.

His seat, A11, arguably the best in the house, is dedicated to all his family, while another is dedicated to his mother Rose and his grandchildren.

Another person to have a seat waiting for them is his fourth grandchild, Callum Robert Harry, who was born on October 31. “He’s got a pair of lungs just like me,” says Alan. “And now he’s got A12, the seat next to mine, dedicated to him.”