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“while the old theatre was merely playing a role, the New Marlowe will deliver a lead performance for future generations to enjoy”
© Keith Williams Architects
staging of plays. However, it was still unfit for purpose as a theatre, as its very
long auditorium made it difficult for actors to project their voices to patrons seated at the back and with just 950 seats it wasn’t large enough to warrant a visit by some of the country’s larger touring theatre productions. The building’s bulky beige and brown frame was also
showing its age, explains Overall: ‘Most of the theatre had reached the end of its natural life, so we decided to demolish it, apart from the fly tower, which was still structurally sound and could be reused in the new building. Although a refurbish- ment was considered, the client, Canterbury City Council, decided the money would be better spent on a new purpose- built theatre, which would have a longer lifespan.’ The New Marlowe stands on a shorter footprint, but
extends upwards to provide three levels of seating in the main auditorium, designed to give patrons more intimate views of the stage. There are 1,200 seats in total, 600 at stalls level, 300 in the circle level above and 300 in a top level balcony.
Meanwhile, a second 150-seat auditorium has been added at first floor level intended for staging community and educa- tional productions and workshops, while a new orchestral pit in the main auditorium will provide room for up to 80 musicians. The building can be entered via two axes, from the north a
pretty riverside walk leads into a ground floor terraced café next to the river, and from the south, patrons approach through a specially designed public piazza forecourt bordering Friars Road, leading directly from the high street. Visually, the building rises up in stages from the paved
street-level piazza to the pointed pinnacle of the fly tower in the north. A major feature is an eight metre-high white stone collonade, which sweeps around three sides of the building, framing a double-height glazed foyer space at the front and partially covering the large copper-clad box of the second audi- torium to the east. A feature staircase inside the glazed foyer space provides vertical circulation and access to the public café, box office, bars and amenities.
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