Marlowe
- Theatre ID592
- Built / Converted1982
- Current stateExtant
- Current useTheatre
- AddressThe Friars, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2AS, England
Details
The first Marlowe Theatre in St Margaret’s Street closed in 1983. Canterbury City Council acquired the former Odeon as a replacement as part of a planning gain arrangement. The cinema was converted to a theatre and concert hall and reopened in 1984. A successful and well run venue, but in architectural terms a blot on the landscape with its huge and ugly fly tower. The old Odeon façe, itself something of an architectural oddity, with six tall first-floor windows above the entrance canopy, three balustraded panels below the cornice and a tall stepped parapet, was little altered. The foyer, too, is almost untouched, but other new space has been created alongside and glazed access corridors hang off the side of the auditorium. The auditorium, long and wide but well raked, is divided by no fewer than three cross gangways, the new rake reaching to the height of the former cinema balcony. The new chandeliers can be lowered to form a ‘light curtain’, reducing capacity when required from 993 to 600. The roof is now open to the auditorium. The stage house was totally rebuilt with a proscenium opening of 13m (42ft 8in), a stage 11.5m (37ft 10in) deep, and with an orchestra pit for up to 48. Dressing rooms under the stage.
- Other namesFriars, Odeon
-
Events
- 1933 Design/Construction:
- Alfred & Vincent Burr - Architect
- 1982 Alteration: City Architect, converted to theatre/concert hall
- P Jackson - Architect
- 1982 Design/Construction:
- John Wyckham & Partners - Consultant: Theatre Consultants (Tony Easterbrook)
- 1981 Owner/Management: Canterbury City Council
- 1933 Design/Construction:
- Capacities
- Original: 990
- Current: 993
- Listings
- Grade Not listed
- Stage type
- Pros flat
-
Dimensions
- Proscenium width: 13m (40ft)
- Height to grid: 17.73m (58ft)
- Orchestra pit: Forestage/pit holds 24. Max capacity 48 by removing stalls seating
