After 21 years in business, Theatre Britain announced today it will be closing its doors after its 2017 season. Artistic Director Sue Birch and her husband Ian Birch said they will be moving to the United Kingdom in early 2018, meaning the theater will lose its artistic director, executive producer and production manager. The board had a three-year plan in place to pay a salary for an artistic director and part-time administrator, but that timeframe will no longer work to raise the money needed and begin the search, Sue Birch said. Sue Birch was one of the founders in 1996 and became production manager in 2002, according to a press release. The company reported 2016 was a record year in terms of attendance and in 2017 the theater remains fiscally strong and debt-free, according to the release. When the theater, located at 1517 H Ave., opened, its first production was a traditional British panto, which is a fairy tale complete with songs, dances, jokes and audience participation. The theater will come full circle and close with a panto showing from Nov. 25-Dec. 30, Sue Birch said. "We want to have a fabulous last season," Sue Birch said.