The Hexagon
| The Hexagon | |
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View of The Hexagon from San Francisco Libre Walk
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 Location within Reading Town Centre
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| General information | |
| Type | multi-purpose arts venue and theatre |
| Address | Queens Walk, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom, RG1 7UA |
| Coordinates | 51°27′14″N 0°58′40″W / 51.453889°N 0.977778°WCoordinates: 51°27′14″N 0°58′40″W / 51.453889°N 0.977778°W |
| Construction started | 1977 |
| Owner | Reading Borough Council |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | RMJM |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1,200 seated 1,686 standing and seated |
| Website | |
| readingarts.com/thehexagon | |
The Hexagon is a multi-purpose theatre and arts venue in Reading, Berkshire, England. Built in 1977 in the shape of an elongated hexagon, the theatre is operated by Reading Borough Council under the name "Reading Arts and Venues" along with South Street Arts Centre and Reading's concert hall.
The theatre was built in 1977 by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall (RMJM), who also built the adjacent Civic Centre. The original design featured a proscenium but no fly tower. Upon opening, the venue was comparable to Derby's Assembly Rooms—which also opened in 1977—but the Hexagon was described as architecturally and acoustically superior.
As the building was designed operate as a multi-use venue, the arena-style seating was used to avoid limited visibility. This proved useful for sports such as snooker or boxing, but rendered a number of seats unusable during performances that utilised the proscenium. A review of the Hexagon's architectural design in a 1979 edition of the Architects' Journal surmised that dramatic performances were seen as a low priority in the design—despite an estimated quarter of all events being of this type.
The stalls, which use removable and retractable seats, have less headroom than the balcony above. This results in shallow overhangs. The theatre floor, which usually holds stall seating, is adjustable to allow a contiguous service with the stage, providing a 517 square metres (5,560 sq ft) surface. The balconies, which are separated by gaps around the auditorium, are similar to those at Christchurch Town Hall. Similarly, the inclined panels around the room—to introduce reflections—may have been inspired by that venue.
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