York Theatre Royal

• Location: York, UK

Arts Council funded refurbishment of the grade II* listed Georgian theatre, for York Citizens’ Theatre Trust. York Theatre Royal has occupied the site since 1744 and the theatre was originally constructed using parts of earlier medieval buildings and subsequently re-modelled in the Victorian era and again in 1967 with Patrick Gwynne’s award winning glazed front of house café bar.

This £4.1m project sought to radically transform the quality and increase commercial effectiveness of the space, to secure the financial future of the theatre.

The Victorian colonnade has been enclosed and glazed to give an animated face to the street, opening out previously unused spaces doubling the size of the public areas and improving circulation.

The main auditorium has been refurbished with the addition of a new flat stage and fixed rake stalls with new seating throughout to provide better sightlines improving the audience relationship to the stage ,improving access and increasing the intimacy of the space and offering different presentation configurations.

The work has exposed elements of the original Medieval and Georgian fabric of the building. The Patrick Gwynne extension has been carefully refurbished to de-clutter and reinstate the original design intent, improving floor coverings, furniture and lighting to give this significant listed building back its design coherence. Improve the current inefficient use of energy through the replacement of boilers and improvements in the ventilation systems in the main auditorium.

Service Type:-
Project Management

Client:-
York Citizen's Theatre Trust