The Harlequin Theatre & Cinema

Significance

The Harlequin is a multi-purpose theatre and arts venue located within the Warwick Quadrant Shopping Centre in Redhill. Designed as a cultural hub, the venue comprises a theatre, boutique cinema, meeting / function rooms, a café and exhibition space. The theatre auditorium is flat floored with retractable tiered seating, providing flexibility for the venue to host a wide range of live performance events. It also has an orchestra pit that can accommodate 30 musicians, and backstage accommodation for up to 40 performers.

The Harlequin is a popular venue within Redhill and has undergone several refurbishments since its opening in 1986. Prior to its closure in 2023, further upgrade works had been planned highlighting the importance of this facility to its community.

Why is this theatre at risk?

The theatre was added to the Theatres at Risk Register in 2025.

The Harlequin closed in September 2023 as a precaution following the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The venue remains closed.

Detailed inspection of the RAAC panels took place in 2024. A full conditions survey of the building was commissioned alongside this inspection and took place shortly after the RAAC inspection. The report showed that almost every panel in the flat roof, pitched roof and areas of the internal floor have been classed as ‘red’, which is critical risk. This means that, without significant remediation or removal of the RAAC panelling, the Harlequin must remain closed. Any remediation of the RAAC will impact on other areas of the building, for example services attached to the panels, and floor and ceiling fixtures and finishes etc. The cost of replacing the RAAC therefore cannot be considered in isolation.

The situation at the Harlequin is further complicated by the venue’s location on the first floor of the Warwick Quadrant shopping centre, with some options potentially effecting the wider estate. However, the building’s managing agents have confirmed that the shops are not affected by the RAAC in the theatre because the first-floor slab that sits above the ground floor units and below the theatre and library is a solid reinforced concrete slab, not RAAC.

The cost to replace the panels and modernise the theatre was reported .

Theatre potential

The Harlequin was a thriving theatre up until its closure in 2023, with an active programme of both professional and community performance. There is strong local support for the Harlequin to be repaired and reopened, including from the Harlequin Support Group (HSG) which was set up after the theatre closed and is formed of groups which have used the theatre.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council has provided some alternative space for performance since the Harlequin’s closure, including relocating the pantomime to a purpose-built big top tent in the nearby Redhill Memorial Park in 2023 and hosting pop-up events in the Belfry Shopping Centre and outdoor theatre in neighbouring Reigate.

The council says that it recognises the value of the arts and the role the Harlequin plays in the community and is actively seeking an independent operator for both the Harlequin and a second arts venue, Unit 5 of The Rise in central Redhill.

Current situation

Theatres Trust has met with the council to discuss the situation both with the theatre and with regards to ongoing cultural provision.

In 2025 the council's Executive agreed to earmark up to £10m for the Harlequin Theatre and to expand the area’s cultural offer. Later that same year, a budget of £4.5m was set aside to remove the RAAC panels and carry out other essential works necessary to see the theatre reopened. At the time of writing the council is currently procuring a contractor for the works with an ambition set to reopen the theatre in 2027.

The council is also undergoing a procurement process to find an operator for both the Harlequin and the proposed new arts and culture space in The Rise.

Theatres Trust will continue to offer support to the council to find a solution for the Harlequin that supports culture and live performance for the community of Redhill both in the medium and the long-term.

Images Theatres Trust