Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

This is a mid-20th century theatre designed with a distinctive circular auditorium plan. The building employs a modernist architectural language using reinforced concrete as its primary structural material, combined with glazing, brick, timber cladding, and steel elements.

The perimeter is formed by a drum of reinforced concrete columns between fully-glazed walls, with sections wrapped in a white-painted brise soleil of narrow vertical fins in the manner of Oscar Niemeyer. The stage, wings, fly tower and service block are constructed in pre-cast concrete, with dark grey brick and timber cladding. The auditorium interior features exposed, ribbed concrete walls and a suspended plaster ceiling with a timber-lined soffit above the stage, designed to optimise acoustics. Steel-truss roofs with copper cladding sit above the auditorium. Steel balustrades frame the balconies, and concrete and timber stairs with steel balustrades provide internal circulation.

The plan follows a D-shaped layout with a circular auditorium designed to seat 574 people. It employs an end-stage configuration with an apron stage flanked by unusually spacious wings. Horseshoe-shaped foyers, dressing rooms and offices wrap around the auditorium. A fly tower rises above the stage. The main entrance from Millbrook leads to a ground-floor foyer and a restaurant overlooking the river. An internal open stair connects to the first-floor foyer, with the former club room and circle bar above on the upper floor. Full-height internal enclosed stairwells and an external linked lift tower provide further circulation. External stairs from the ground floor lead to the first-floor foyer and a small terrace.

The entrance is set behind the curved outer drum's piers beneath a slender, fan-shaped canopy supported on those piers. Below the canopy sit vertically-aligned glazed brick cladding with clerestory lighting and timber cladding flanking the entrance doors. The foyers are lit by full-height steel window units between concrete columns, all painted white. Ground-floor folding teak door units open onto the terrace. The west-facing elevation overlooking the river features the brise soleil screen of narrow vertical fins, glimpsed between trees, behind which sit steel-framed casement windows serving offices and dressing rooms. The building's rear is constructed of shutter-marked pre-cast concrete blocks with deep, wide joints; a canvas store and walkway project externally. Above sits a low fly tower with angled, louvred clerestory vents, positioned above a sloping roof that rises to the north-west, concealing the central dome above the auditorium. A shallow moulded eaves fascia continues as a narrow concrete band on the rear wall. A large door to the wings is located south of the main entrance. An attached full-height cylindrical lift shaft to the north, also concrete-framed with glazed walls, links to the main building at ground and upper levels. External concrete stairs with a slender central spur and steel balustrade lead from the first-floor foyer to a small circular sitting and viewing area at first-floor level.

Internally, the entrance with box office leads to the foyer where radiating spokes supporting the upper-floor slab are expressed in the ceiling. Open-sided stairs with timber treads, supported on a slender pre-cast concrete frame with steel balustrade and timber handrail, visually appear to float as they rise to the upper foyer. Beyond lies a separate restaurant opening onto the terrace through folding teak glazed door units. Ground-floor cloakrooms and offices sit within the internal drum beneath the auditorium. At first-floor level, the drum displays a vertically-ribbed surface with shallow drinks shelves attached.

The auditorium features steeply-raked stalls and a balcony with steel-framed balustrades, designed to provide good sightlines. A pair of boxes flank each side, each on a separate projecting concrete floor slab. The heavily ribbed concrete walls and shaped plaster ceiling with a sound-reflective timber soffit above the stage were designed to maximise acoustics, further enhanced by carpets and upholstery. An apron stage sits within a proscenium approximately 37 feet wide. The backstage area includes a corridor and upper bridge; proximity to the river prevented a full sub-stage corridor, and a sub-stage trap exists instead. A sound and lighting box is positioned to the rear of the auditorium.

Internal pre-cast concrete stairs feature pronounced linear tread ends and steel balustrades. Other internal surfaces are functional: the wings and backstage spaces are in exposed shutter-marked concrete, while offices, dressing rooms and wardrobes have painted concrete block or stud walls. The original rehearsal room, later converted to a board room, has been refurbished as a members' room that departs from the original decorative scheme.