Mayflower Theatre Trust rescues NST City theatre

Southampton City Council approved the bid to take over the Studio 144 building.

The theatre was previousuly run by Southampton Nuffield Theatre Trust, which went into administration in May. The city centre venue consists of a 450-seat main theatre and 133-seat studio and opened in 2018 as part of the cultural quarter redevelopment. 

Mayflower Theatre Trust, operating as Mayflower Academy Limited, has been awarded a new 35-year lease and a grant of £511,250 paid over two years to operate the theatre. It will be used as a creative hub to support local artists and companies, and has been renamed MAST Mayflower Studios. It is envisaged that the theatre will not reopen until spring 2021.

It is still uncertain what will happen to NST Campus, the original 500 seat auditiorium on the university campus.