Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse & Sky Mirror at night
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| Address | Wellington Circus City Centre, Nottingham UK |
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| Coordinates | 52°57′13″N 1°09′28″W / 52.9537°N 1.1577°W |
| Designation | Grade II* Listed Building |
| Type | Proscenium |
| Capacity | 770 Main House; 100 (Neville Studio) |
| Current use | Producing Theatre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Years active | 70 years |
| Architect | Peter Moro |
| Website | |
| www |
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Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop. The current building opened in 1963.
The architect of the current theatre, constructed as an example of Modern architecture. was Peter Moro who had worked on the interior design of the Royal Festival Hall in London. When the theatre was completed, it was controversial as it faces the gothic revival Roman Catholic cathedral designed by Augustus Pugin. However, the buildings received a Civic Trust Award in 1965. Despite the modern external appearance and the circular auditorium walls, the theatre has a proscenium layout, seating an audience of 770.
During the 1980s, when the concrete interiors were out of fashion, the Playhouse suffered from insensitive "refurbishment" that sought to hide its character. Since 1996, it has been a Grade II* listed building and in 2004, the theatre was sympathetically restored and refurbished with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The sculpture Sky Mirror by Anish Kapoor was installed between the theatre and the adjacent green space of Wellington Circus in 2001 at a cost of £1.25m (£NaN in 2017),. It is one of the main features of the 160 seat patio area of Cast Restaurant and in autumn 2007 won the Nottingham Pride of Place in a public vote to determine the city's favourite landmark.
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Wikipedia