Stephen Joseph Theatre
| Stephen Joseph Theatre | |
|---|---|
 Stephen Joseph Theatre |
|
| Address | Westborough |
| City | Scarborough, North Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 54°16′50″N 0°24′21″W / 54.280556°N 0.405833°WCoordinates: 54°16′50″N 0°24′21″W / 54.280556°N 0.405833°W |
| Owned by | Scarborough Theatre Development Trust |
| Capacity | 404-seat (main house) 165-seat (studio/cinema) |
| Opened | 30 April 1996 |
| Production | Visiting and own productions |
| www.sjt.uk.com | |
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain.
In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on the first floor of the Public Library.[1]
The theatre flourished and in 1976 moved to a supposedly temporary home on the ground floor of the former Scarborough Boys' High School.
However, a permanent home proved difficult to find and it was not until late 1988 and the closure of the local Odeon cinema by Rank Leisure that the theatre's long-standing Artistic Director, Alan Ayckbourn, found a suitable venue.
The new theatre, known simply as the Stephen Joseph Theatre, opened in 1996 and comprises two auditoria: The Round, a 404-seat in the round and The McCarthy, a 165-seat endstage/cinema. The building also contains a restaurant, shop, and full front-of-house and backstage facilities.
The Round boasts two important technical innovations: the stage lift, facilitating speedy set changes and the trampoline, a Canadian invention which allows technicians particularly easy access to the lighting grid.
It is also the place where Richard Hawley's Coles Corner album cover was taken.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "History". Stephen Joseph Theatre. http://www.sjt.uk.com/history.asp. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
