UCL has confirmed that the Bloomsbury Theatre will reopen in Autumn 2018 following a major refurbishment. Although it is used for university events it is also a venue where numerous comedians from Ricky Gervais to Michael McIntyre, Eddie Izzard and Stewart Lee have performed. The main theatre closed abruptly for building works in 2015 although the studio theatre downstairs has staged smaller shows since 2015.
The capital programme of works has now been approved and the Theatre, situated at 15 Gordon Street, will undergo extensive renewal. This will enable UCL Culture, who manage the Theatre, to increase the level of student activity, expand the use of the space to the wider UCL academic community and enable commercial hire from across the theatre world to start up again.
Given the substantial scale of the work required to reinstate the Theatre, UCL decided to embark on a review of the 1968 theatre configuration to see if it was still right for current and future user needs, what new technologies could be employed and if other configurations could work.
When the Theatre reopens it will give increased access to student society shows and productions. These will be accompanied by a programme of work that will create opportunities for collaboration between academics, artists, performers, directors and companies. The Theatre will also continue to host a range of commercial shows that will be presented in a curated seasonal format.
Simon Cane, Director of UCL Culture said: “The closure gave us the opportunity to assess the value of the Theatre to UCL and to consider a new operating model. The views of the students have been essential in informing our understanding of how important the theatre is to the student experience and what they want from the space in the future. I am excited by the opportunity to develop a refreshed approach to our programming where we will mix leading edge, research driven, co-produced content with a curated commercial programme.”
Frank Penter, Head of Operations, UCL Culture said: ”The designs will re-open the theatre with significant technical and infrastructure improvements allowing UCL Culture to support shows at the cutting edge of theatre. Student and academic input has been key to the design process so I’m confident that we will end up with a theatre fit for the University use and also commercial users.”
The project is a collaborative enterprise with UCL Culture and UCL Estates as part of the Transforming UCL programme, the largest capital programme in the university’s history which involves the investment of £1.2 billion to upgrade and expand UCL’s accommodation and facilities.
