Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone)
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| Address | Gateforth Street London, NW8 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°31′28″N 0°10′11″W / 51.52451°N 0.1696°W |
| Public transit |
  Marylebone
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| Owner | City of Westminster College |
| Type | Fringe theatre |
| Capacity | 180 thrust, 240 in-the-round |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Architect | Edward Mendelsohn |
| Website | |
| www.thecockpit.org.uk | |
The Cockpit Theatre is a fringe theatre in Marylebone, London. Designed by Edward Mendelsohn and built in 1969-70 by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as a community theatre, it is notable as London's first purpose-built Theatre in the round since the Great Fire of London. When ILEA was disbanded in 1990, ownership of the Cockpit was transferred to the London Borough of Westminster, who made it part of the newly renamed City of Westminster College. It remains one of a handful of purpose-built theatre training venues in the capital and is still owned and operated by the City Of Westminster College.
Between 1993 and 1995 the Soho Theatre Company took up residence and relaunched itself after a period of homelessness. During this period they premiered the works of over 35 new writers.
In January 2011, owners City of Westminster College moved into their new main building at Paddington Green which included a new theatre. This change meant The Cockpit is no longer used for day-to-day teaching or academic office space and is now operating as full-time theatre and training venue.
The auditorium is 8.5m high and 11m2 with a retractable seating bank on all four sides. Each bank seats 60 people and the seat cushions and backrests can be removed to create alternative playing areas. With the upstage, left and right banks retracted, the downstage centre bank can be pulled out from the standard four rows to 10 rows, creating an end-on configuration. The stage measures 6.6m x 8.6m in thrust setting and 6.6m x 5.9m in-the-round. Upstage, a series of trapdoors span the width of the stage with a series or movable and replaceable panels covering them. Under the stage is a large manually winched lift (now out of service) which can roll along the span of the traps. Although these could be used for stage effects, original plans show this sub-stage area marked as a "chair store" and was to be used as the storage area for seats removed when reconfiguring the space.
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