Playhouse Theatre

The Playhouse Theatre is a theatre dating from 1865, with significant interior remodelling in 1912 by Professor Stanley Adshead and an extension in 1966-68 by Hall, O'Donahue & Wilson. It is constructed of stucco with a slate roof. The front facade is three storeys and seven bays, with a three-bay centre projecting slightly under a broken pediment. Entablatures define each floor. The ground floor features a central triple entrance framed by angle pilasters and fanlights within an architrave; paired round-headed entrances flank the sides. Blind round windows are located on either side of the centre. The first floor has a flat composite pilastrade, with the centre emphasised by paired pilasters at the ends. Windows incorporate panelled aprons, pilasters and cornices, with round windows above. Windows in the centre bays have balustraded windows with tympana beneath relieving arches. The second floor features oculi between panelled pilasters to the central bays and bullseye windows to the flanking bays. The end bays are crowned by cupolas supported by short Tuscan colonnades.

A left-hand extension, built of reinforced concrete with glass cladding, provides a new foyer and cloakroom on the ground floor, alongside a box office, restaurant and bar spaces on the upper floors. To the rear is a large workshop and studio theatre, plus additional dressing rooms. The ground floor facade of the extension has sets of double entrance doors, with two cylindrical cantilevered projections largely clad in glass above.

The auditorium internally features tiers of balconies supported by cast iron columns and is decorated in a Neo-Greek style. The added foyer, restaurant and bar areas feature exposed shuttered concrete walls and suspended steel staircases bolted through the walls. The refurbishment was praised for its asymmetry, varied spaces, unity and balance to the adjacent Victorian facade.

The original theatre is notable as an early work by a pioneer of the Liverpool School of Architecture, reflecting the Grecian style prevalent at the time. It is also of historical significance as one of the first repertory theatres in Britain. The later foyers helped create a lively atmosphere, reflecting the spirit of 1960s theatregoing and embodying a 'citizens' theatre' ethos.