Arts (London)

• Theatre ID
  1979
• Built / Converted
  1927
• Dates of use
  • 1927 - 1990
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  Theatre
• Address
  6-7 Great Newport Street, Westminster, London, WC2H 7JB, England

Details

The Arts makes no grand architectural statement, but it is remarkable in other ways, as one of the first theatres in the heart of the West End to which the term ‘fringe’ might reasonably be applied and also, in one of its manifestations, as the only building-based children’s theatre in such a location (the Unicorn). The Arts Theatre Club, founded in 1927, built their basement theatre in a building leased from the Salisbury Estate, to the designs of P Morley Horder, at a cost of £18,500. Altered and redecorated by Basil Ionides in 1934, its auditorium and stage boxes were severely damaged by fire in 1951 but immediately reconstructed. There have been proposals to rebuild the whole, pleasantly varied block of property in which the theatre stands and there has been concern that the Arts might go down with the building or be moved to a less amenable site. It is arguable that the continuance of theatre activity in this ‘off Charing Cross Road’ location is more important than the survival of the bricks and mortar. The façe is older than the theatre; red brick with a plain rendered ground floor, giant pilasters uniting second and third floors, framing a shallow central recess containing a canted bay. The auditorium is rectangular, with an end balcony and side slips and is architecturally undemonstrative.

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• Other names
  New Arts, Unicorn
• Events
  • 1927 - 1990 Use:
  • 1927 Design/Construction: internal conversion of existing building
    • P Morley Horder - Architect
  • 1934 Alteration: altered and redecorated
    • Basil Ionides - Architect
  • 1951 Alteration: reconstructed after fire
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1934 Design/Construction:
    • Basil Ionides - Consultant: Decorations
  • Owner/Management: Salisbury Estate, freeholder
  • 1927 Owner/Management: Arts Theatre Club, lessee
  • 1962 - 1964 Owner/Management: Nat Cohen, owner of Arts Theatre Club
  • 1973 - 1999 Owner/Management: Unicorn Theatre
• Capacities
  • Original: 324
  • Current: 340
• Listings
  • Grade Not listed
• Stage type
  • Proscenium. Raked
• Dimensions
  • Proscenium width: 6.17m
  • Height to grid: 12.5m