The Waterside Theatre was an independent theatre/arts venue overlooking the Stratford Canal in Stratford-upon-Avon,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, England. It was bankrupted after flood damage and the building has been taken over by the Royal Shakespeare Company, first as the Waterside Space and now as the Clore Learning Centre.

History

The theatre was opened on 29 May 1979 by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

, and has been part of the town for many years, once housing the town's first cinema. The building was also home for many years to an audio-visual presentation visitor attraction, The World of Shakespeare. After the closure of The World of Shakespeare, the Waterside Theatre lay empty before re-opening in December 2004. The theatre then hosted Shakespearience, a visitor attraction aimed to both celebrate and introduce newcomers to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's world and works. Both closed in September 2008.

Theatre

The theatre building is styled like an Elizabethan-style playhouse, authentically timbered similar to The Globe Theatre in London. Famous faces to have graced the stage in the past include:

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, Robin Ince,

King Pleasure King Pleasure (born Clarence Beeks; March 24, 1922 – March 21, 1982) was an American jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a well-known instrumental solo. Biography Born as Clarence Beeks in Oakdale, Te ...

and The Biscuit Boys, Alistair McGowan,

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View'' (19 ...

and ex-Radio 1 DJ

Normski Norman Anderson (born 1966) better known as Normski, is a British "broadcaster, photographer … DJ", and rapper, known for his work as a BBC television presenter. Early life Anderson was born in northwest London. He was given his first camera ...

References

Theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon Defunct companies of the United Kingdom {{UK-theatre-stub