Keith Williams’ competition winning project for the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury was formally opened on the 4th October 2011 by HRH The Earl of Wessex KG, GCVO.
Named after Christopher Marlowe, the cathedral city’s famous Tudor playwright, the new building has been constructed on the site of the former Marlowe Theatre which was housed in a now demolished 1930s cinema. The new building contains a 1,200 seat main theatre, a 150 studio theatre, cafes and bars, rehearsal and backstage facilities. The main elements are united by an enwrapping colonnaded glazed foyer which opens onto the River Stour, and mediates between the existing street scale and the larger elements of the composition, such as the main auditorium and the stainless steel mesh clad flytower.The £25.6 million project, close by Canterbury’s Grade I Listed Cathedral and UNESCO World Heritage Site was delivered to time and budget, opening to the public 7th October 2011.