THERE were tears of laughter and then sadness as the final curtain fell on Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre on Sunday.

After a marathon four-hour variety show the 25-year-old theatre - converted from a former 1933 Odeon cinema - has gone "dark" so it can be pulled down to make way for a new £25.6 million building.

Among those on the final bill of A Night of a Thousand Stars were comedian Brian "It's A Puppet" Conley, TV presenter and magician Stephen Mulhern, and former EastEnders actors John "Nasty Nick" Altman from Herne Bay, Emma "Honey Mitchell" Barton and Shaun "Barry Evans" Williamson from Selling.

They were joined by The Bill actor Graham "PC Tony Stamp" Cole and 84-year-old Oliver! veteran Ron Moody who went down a storm.

There was a video message from Pirates of the Caribbean Hollywood hunk Orlando Bloom whose first foray into showbusiness was on the Marlowe stage as four-year-old. His mum was in the audience.

But the biggest cheer was reserved for a reprise of the theatre's famous ghost bench sketch led by tubby Herne funnyman Dave Lee.

With him on the specially-extended seat were Chief Scout and former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan, John Altman, panto producer Paul Hendy, Stephen Mulhern, impressionist Hilary O'Neil, Emma Barton and pint-sized Phil Holden.

All the celebrities gave their time for free.

Lord Mayor of Canterbury Cllr Carolyn Parry, who admitted being part of the Hot Gossip dance troupe in her youth, said: "Tonight is a landmark in Canterbury's history. This theatre has been an enormous success but now it is old and falling down. I am so proud the city council voted on Thursday to build the New Marlowe Theatre on this site. It will be the centre of our community."

The Marlowe was opened with a gala in 1984 starring Barbara Windsor, Frankie Vaughan, guitarist Bert Weedon, boxer Henry Cooper, Bernard Bresslaw, comedian Norman Collier, Billy Dainty and Hi-de-hi stars Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland.

Barbara Windsor had agreed to be part of the final show but had to pull out because of filming commitments for EastEnders.

* Everything from glitter balls, seats and signed photos to office furniture is up for grabs at the Marlowe Theatre this Saturday, March 28, in an end-of-run sale from 11am.

Paula Gillespie, the theatre's head of operations, said: "It all has to go. We will be accepting any reasonable offer."

Proceeds will go towards buying equipment for the new building which is due to open in September, 2011.

To help raise £5.6 million visit www.newmarlowetheatre.org.uk.

* Did you see the show? Add your comments below...