The Courtyard Centre for the Arts is a theatre and arts venue in Hereford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, located on Edgar Street just outside the city centre. The building was constructed between 1997 and 1998 on the site of another theatre; The New Hereford Theatre, a converted swimming baths which had become outdated. It hosts in-house shows, such as a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

and productions by a youth theatre and a community company, alongside national tours. It is also one of the main sites for the annual Borderlines Film Festival.

Details

The New Hereford Theatre was a converted swimming baths which had become outdated. Planning for the replacement building began in 1993 and received a significant boost when the Lottery Commission provided £3.75 million towards the fund. The glass and wooden building was designed by

Glenn Howells Glenn Paul Howells (born 15 July 1961) is a British architect and a director and founder of Glenn Howells Architects. Early life Howells was born in Stourbridge, England and educated in Plymouth. Practice His practice, Glenn Howells Archite ...

, following selection through an

architectural design competition An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

managed by

RIBA Competitions RIBA Competitions is the Royal Institute of British Architects' unit dedicated to organising architectural and other design-related competitions. Architectural design competitions are used by an organisation that plans to build a new building or re ...

, and opened on 18 September 1998 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Jonathan Stone, then Artistic Director. The design of the Main House is based upon the shape of an Elizabethan Courtyard or Inn Yard Theatre, from which the building takes its name. The building contains a Studio theatre in addition to its Main House (and both double as cinemas), an art gallery and two conference rooms, on the ground and first floor. There is a rehearsal room/dance studio on the second floor. It has a total seating capacity of approximately 520, in both of its venues. The studio has a third role as a lecture hall; it was from here that David Cameron launched his LibDems 4 Cameron campaign in December 2005. There is also a licensed Cafe-Bar which hosts a number of free events such as 'Jazz Cafe', 'Sunday Social' and 'Open Mike Night'. Between 1998 and 2004 the centre received approximately 1.2 million visitors and in 1999 it was described as being an "ultra-cool, rigorously modern" building.Pearman, Hugh "New look Britain - Architecture",

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

, 1999-02-21 The Courtyard's patrons include Sir Derek Jacobi and

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satu ...

References

External links

The Courtyard – Herefordshire's Centre for the Arts
{{coord , 52.061, -2.719, type:landmark, display=title Theatres in Hereford Buildings and structures in Hereford Tourist attractions in Herefordshire Arts centres in England