This Aladdin's cave, at York Theatre Royal, is a wellspring of excess treasures. Now all the bits and pieces from its old shows are to make way for new stock. A sale today (Saturday) is to open its doors to clear out furniture, costumes and props. From its show Sovereign, there are two rails of costumes and a handful of puppets.

"The store is a treasure trove," said head of wardrobe, Hazel Fall. "We don’t have sales often, and this is a real mixture."

There are chairs and crockery, academic gowns. All the accessories an audience rarely thinks about - ties and shoes and belt buckles.

Ms Fall believes the stars of the show will be two costumes made for a pantomime dame.

"We also have a piece of white leather armour which is magnificent," she added.

The theatre has a sale like this every few years, although having been closed for much of the pandemic it is a little smaller this time.

Still, it's enough to fill an entire studio. Rows upon rows of costumes and props. An oversized egg, a pantomime hammer. Old puppets, dusted with ultraviolet paint.

Old furs in the stores are donated to Child Aid, where they are made into blankets to be sent to Moldova and Ukraine, keeping vulnerable children warm this winter.

And behind the scenes for a show it can take weeks of preparation. Designing and creating, sewing and crafting. Once a show ends, all this doesn't just disappear. Instead, the costumes head to the theatre's Costume Hire department, at Osbaldwick, to begin a new life.

"Once they are there they can be hired out by anyone, you don’t have to be in the industry," said Ms Fall.

"The store is large, but the costumes are not forgotten. They get hired out for fancy dress parties or theatre productions or even TV dramas."

There are some military pieces, donated from people's attics. Dress uniforms, from the Second World War, which are becoming harder to find. Then vintage clothing, some costumes from the theatre's community productions of The Coppergate Woman and Sovereign.

And of course some pantomime props, including a couple of dresses from dame Berwick Kaler and his famous rocking chair which joined him through dozens of seasons.

"I've seen lots of props being brought in... giant eggs, a big hammer," said Ms Fall. " A parrot from Swallows and Amazons. A little bit of everything really.

"With the costumes, we spend weeks and weeks making them. It is a job I love and is always so varied," she added. "We can be making costumes fit for a Tudor court and come in the next week and be making frilly knickers or sequinned gowns.”

The sale will be held from 10am to 6pm Saturday, August 26, at York Theatre Royal. Entry is free with all funds raised supporting the theatre’s work in the community.

Inside the costume store at York Theatre Royal as treasure trove of props goes on sale