The Shaftesbury Theatre – where the new dance show Burn The Floor has just opened – has been granted planning consent for the redevelopment of the Grade II* listed building.
The Shaftesbury Theatre is the West End’s largest independent theatre owned, since 1983, by the Theatre of Comedy Company.
The theatre, an iconic landmark on Shaftesbury Avenue, has had the proposals of Bennetts Associates Architects granted by Camden Council.
Bennetts was behind the highly acclaimed transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, completed in 2010, and the new Hampstead Theatre in London
The Shaftesbury Theatre project consists of internal and external alterations to the theatre’s existing stagehouse and flytower, ensuring the long-term viability of the venue to accommodate large-scale, self-produced and touring productions.
Located at the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and High Holborn, the Shaftesbury Theatre was originally designed by the renowned theatre architect Bertie Crewe and opened as New Princes Theatre in 1911. In 2002 the flytower was strengthened to increase capacity and in recent years has seen further temporary adaptations to accommodate larger shows. The proposed extension to the flytower, on the Eastern boundary of the building facing Grape Street, will increase its height and loading capacity, with the aim to eliminate the need for temporary adaptation in future.
The west face of the extension will incorporate dressing rooms and office accommodation, increasing and consolidating the theatre’s support spaces which are currently housed in several locations across the site.
Bennetts Associates’ design approach employs distinctive cor-ten steel cladding, which responds to brick and terracotta in both the existing theatre facades and the adjacent King Edward’s Mansions. The height of the proposed flytower corresponds to the height of the mansion blocks, having the effect of completing the Grade II* listed city block.
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