Marlowe Theatre

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The Marlowe Theatre is a 1000-seat theatre in Canterbury, England. It is one of the largest theatres in Kent and the nearest major English theatre to mainland Europe^{[citation needed]}.

1 Name
2 History
3 External links

[edit] Name

It is named after the playwright Christopher Marlowe, born and educated in the city. In front of the present theatre is a 19th century statue of a Muse (Marlowe is known as the Muses's darling) surrounded by small effigies of characters from Marlowe plays.

[edit] History

[edit] First building

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The theatre previously occupied another site on St Margaret's Street, which was demolished in 1984.

[edit] Second building

The present building was built in 1933 as the Friars Cinema, where on 11th May 1944 the film A Canterbury Tale received its world premiere. It re-opened as a theatre in September 1984, an event marked by the reinauguration of the Canterbury Festival

[edit] Redevelopment

Despite continued use - the former cinema is a large space rather unsuited to a theatre. Canterbury City Council was advised that an entirely new theatre would cost more than redeveloping The Marlowe on its existing site (there being no suitable site available), and therefore unanimously decided in 2005 to give the go-ahead to a multi-million pound redevelopment of the theatre, with the working title of the New Marlowe Theatre Project. The estimated cost is £23.5 million at 2008 prices. Parts of the current building will be demolished, the auditorium gutted and two new auditoria (one with 1,200 seats, stalls, slips, balcony and electronically adjustable acoustics; and the other - flexible to accommodate a wide range of performances and other activities - with around 200 seats), new catering facilities, a bar on each floor, a cafe, a hospitality suite, a courtyard, better physical access for the public, staff and theatrical companies (with lifts to all floors) built within the shell, along with the provision of more parking spaces for people with disabilities and a new, landscaped riverside walk outside.[1] In March 2007 Keith Williams was announced as the chosen architect for the project.[2]

The project is to be funded by £8 million of council money (and continue to subsidise it when it reopens), with the remainder raised from The Friends of The Marlowe and other public bodies, charitable trusts, private donors and public fundraising. It is estimated that it will close in Spring 2008 and re-open in Autumn 2009, with other jobs and shows going to other local venues for those 18 months.