Lace Market Theatre

Lace Market Theatre
Construction
The logo of the Lace Market Theatre
Address	Halifax Place City Centre, Nottingham United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°57′06″N 1°08′42″W / 52.9516°N 1.1449°W / 52.9516; -1.1449
Owner	The Lace Market Theatre Trust Ltd.
Designation	Grade II Listed Building
Type	Amateur Theatre
Capacity	118 auditorium, 50 studio
Opened	1972
Rebuilt	1984 extension
Website
www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk

The Lace Market Theatre is a small, independent amateur theatre, located in Nottingham, England. It is owned and operated by The Lace Market Theatre Trust Limited, which is a registered charity.^[1]

History

The Lace Market Theatre

Origins

The Lace Market Theatre Trust developed from two amateur dramatic societies founded in Nottingham in the 1920s – the Nottingham Playgoers Club [1922] and the Nottingham Philodramatic Society [1926]. These amalgamated in 1946 to become the Nottingham Theatre Club and were based from 1946 to 1951 at the Nottingham Bluecoat School.

Hutchison Street: 1951 - 1972

In 1951 the Nottingham Theatre Club moved to leased premises in Hutchinson Street which were much closer to the city centre. They stayed there until 1972, when they left as part of the major slum clearance and redevelopment of the city during that decade. It was at this point that the members raised the money to buy an old dilapidated paint store in the Lace Market area of the city.^[2]

Halifax Place

The paint store had originally been built in 1761 as a Chapel ^[3] and later became a school, where William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was a pupil. The building is now Grade II listed.^[4]

Tight funds meant that most of the conversion had to be carried out by the members themselves in their spare time. But what emerged was an auditorium seating 118 and space in the upstairs bar for studio performances for smaller audiences. All this was achieved in the space of a year. The aim was, and has remained to put on plays that were challenging for actors and the technical crews and ones which otherwise people would have to go to London to see.

Training by doing was always a part of the club and the concept of small-scale productions in the bar area where first time directors could cut their teeth were introduced. These productions were known as "Fents" in homage to the textile history of the Lace Market area.

In 1977, the opportunity arose to acquire more land and it was decided that, to facilitate fund raising, the Lace Market Theatre Trust should be formed. £40,000 was raised for a three storey extension at the rear and a further £40,000 was raised for its completion in 1984. The building was owned by the Trust and the Nottingham Theatre Club rented it from them.

While the Nottingham Theatre Club continued the policy of challenging drama, the trust began furthering the educational responsibilities of a charity by giving grants to students who were going on to drama school. At that point in time, drama students were only able to apply for discretionary grants from the LEA and these were in short supply.

By the year 2000 the Nottingham Theatre Club were again beginning to feel cramped. The extensive wardrobe moved into rented premises, first in St. Mary's Gate and then in Stoney Street in the heart of the Lace Market District. The Theatre is well known for its heavily-subscribed, well run youth theatre having won many awards at the NANDA festival over the past few years.

The Nottingham Theatre Club merged into the Lace Market Theatre Trust in 2003. New development plans are under way with the aim of creating a landmark amateur theatre for the region.^[5]

Patrons

Shortly after the completion of the extension in 1984, Prunella Scales and Timothy West were invited to become patrons of the theatre and this they both agreed to do. In 2012 Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes also agreed to become patrons of the theatre. Before her death, Joyce Redman had been a patron for many years.^[6]

Germany Links

The Lace Market Theatre has been twinned with the Jakobus Theatre and Die Kaeuze in Germany since 1982.^[7] The theatres currently take it in turns to take one production every other year to the other. The Lace Market Theatre hosts both German theatres across two weeks in one year, then, two years later, the two German theatres host one production each over one week.

Notes and references

External links

Places of interest in Nottingham

	Historic buildings	All Saints' Church The Bell Inn Canning Terrace City War Memorial Flying Horse Inn Green's Windmill Nottingham Castle Nottingham Council House Nottingham Roman Catholic Cathedral St Mary's Church St Nicholas' Church St Peter's Church Wollaton Hall Ye Olde Salutation Inn Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem

	Museums, centres and galleries	City of Caves Galleries of Justice Museum Great Central Railway (Nottingham) Green's Windmill Nottingham Castle Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery Nottingham Industrial Museum Trade Nottingham Natural History Museum Wollaton Hall

	Parks and public spaces	Forest Recreation Ground Highfields Park Old Market Square The Arboretum Wollaton Park

	Theatre and entertainment	Albert Hall Broadway Cinema Capital FM Arena Lace Market Theatre National Ice Centre Nottingham Arts Theatre Nottingham Playhouse Royal Concert Hall Rock City The Cornerhouse Theatre Royal

	Shopping	Broadmarsh Shopping Centre The Exchange Arcade Victoria Shopping Centre

	Transport	Broadmarsh Bus Station Nottingham Express Transit Nottingham Railway Station Victoria Bus Station East Midlands Airport

	Education	Nottingham Trent University Nottingham University Central College New College

	Sport	National Ice Centre National Watersports Centre Nottingham Forest F.C. Notts County F.C. Trent Bridge Cricket Ground Nottingham Racecourse Nottingham Greyhound Stadium

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