Editing Cliffs Pavilion (section)

===1990s redevelopment and 2000s refurbishment===
From July 1991 to December 1992, the building was closed to be re-developed and enlarged, with funding from [[Southend-on-Sea City Council|Southend Borough Council]] and was designed by Tim Foster Architects. The stairs were rebuilt, a new Foyer Bar added and a balcony added to the auditorium increasing the capacity to 1,630.<ref name=echo26224>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24141478.cliffs-pavilion-major-8million-refurbishment-hit-delays/|title=Cliffs Pavilion major £8million refurbishment hit by delays|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=26 February 2024}}</ref><ref name=yearsley/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/makespacedesignf0000burn/page/5/mode/1up?q=%22cliffs+pavilion%22|title=Make space! Design for theatre and alternative spaces|author=Burnett, Kate|date=1996|page=122|publisher=Society of British Theatre Designers|isbn=0952930900}}</ref> The new extension was completed in an Art Deco style.<ref name=Essex/> The total cost for the redevelopment was £3.4 million.<ref>{{cite book|title=Architects' Working Details|date=1997|publisher=Emap Construct|page=135}}</ref> The theatre re-opened with the pantomime ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' starring [[Wayne Sleep]], [[Peggy Mount]] and [[Richard Marner]].<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZclBAQAAIAAJ&q=%22cliffs+pavilion%22|title=Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea Opens after refurbishment|periodical=Plays and Players|issue=466–471|date=1993|publisher=Hansom Books|page=35}}</ref> The refurbished Cliffs Pavilion received a [[Civic Trust Awards|Civic Design Award]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abtt.org.uk/people/foster-wilson-size/|title=Foster Wilson Size|website=Association of British Theatre Technicians|access-date=27 August 2024}}</ref>

[[File:The Iconic Rossi's Ice Cream parlour - geograph.org.uk - 521542.jpg|thumb|The Art Deco style 1991-92 extension]]

In 1998, the [[Arts Council England|Arts Council]] allocated £850,000 of [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|Lottery]] cash to Southend Borough Council to investigate a £20 million stage 2 redevelopment. The plans included building a new raked seating stall area, reducing the capacity to 1,601 seats, and a new stage house with dimensions for the stage and fly tower meeting the minimum requirements for major touring companies - an increase in the maximum height from 19 metres to 29 metres. The council brought in Levitt Bernstein Associates to oversee the design, however in 1999 the bid for £12 million of Lottery funding from the Arts Council was overlooked and stage 2 of the redevelopment was withdrawn.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5527120.southend-cliffs-loses-lottery-bid/|title=Southend: Cliffs loses Lottery bid|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=12 July 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/archive/cliffs-pavilion-theatre-southend|title=Cliffs Pavilion Theatre, Southend|journal=Architects Journal|date=30 April 1998}}</ref>

In 2010, the Cliffs was closed for seven weeks while a refurbishment took place. The theatre's 1,630 seats that had been in the venue since the 1991-92 redevelopment were replaced, while the carpets in the Foyer were changed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8271720.cliffs-pavilion-refurbishment/|title=Cliffs Pavilion refurbishment|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=15 July 2010}}</ref>