Plans for a new community theatre in the centre of Bath have been given the go-ahead.
How the inside of the venue would look | Image © Theatre Royal Bath
Bath & North East Somerset Council has granted Theatre Royal Bath planning permission and listed building consent for Venue 4, a new community studio theatre at St John’s Place.
The theatre itself is Grade II* listed and was built in 1805. The Main House has a capacity of around 900 seats.
The Egg, a children’s theatre, was added in 2005 with a capacity of 120. The Ustinov Studio was added in 2010 and has a capacity of around 125.
Subject to a fundraising campaign, Venue 4 will be a new home for Theatre Royal Bath’s Engage adult participation programme and offer a range of opportunities for local people wishing to create new shows, rehearse or perform in front of an audience.
Theatre Royal Bath says it is “an exciting step forward” after three years of work to start making dreams for a fourth venue a reality.
When Theatre Royal Bath received Culture Recovery Funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2021, part of the funding was awarded to undertake a feasibility study into how the organisation could better use the building and grow opportunities for the community.
A view of the new venue from the street | Image © Theatre Royal Bath
Theatre Royal Bath director Danny Moar said: “Theatre Royal Bath is bursting at the seams and our growing work with the community deserves a stage of its own.
“This project is about opening doors to a new community theatre for Bath, to anyone keen to get started in the world of performance.
“This creates an exciting access point into the Theatre Royal Bath operation, our staff and the wider professional eco-system. This will be a stage where everyone’s story can be told.”
When a heritage and access survey at the Theatre Royal identified a street-facing space in need of renovation and ripe for a higher purpose, Stirling Prize-winning architects Haworth Tompkins were commissioned to create a design.
Venue 4 will seat an audience of 40 in an intimate, fringe-style venue with its own foyer. It will be set up for local grass-roots performers of all kinds, as well as a home to the Engage adult participation programme, local festival support, and community engagement.
A long tradition of community engagement already exists at the Theatre Royal Bath. Well-established amateur groups including Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society, Bath Light Operatic Group and the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dance, continue to regularly stage productions on the Main House stage.
Meanwhile, the Theatre Royal remains committed to providing a programme of in-house education and engagement opportunities for adults, in addition to the extensive participatory opportunities available to children and young people at The Egg.
Adult workshops ranging from acting to stage combat and writing for radio have helped theatre-loving amateurs and professionals alike to hone their skills at the Theatre Royal.
Since 2009 this work has also been supported by The Miss Beryl Billings Charitable Trust. Bath-born actor Beryl Billings (1913 – 2008), known professionally as Margot Boyd, stated in her will that she wanted to encourage local people to experience the excitement of being involved in theatre and requested a fund be established in her memory to provide opportunities for the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the theatrical arts in the city.
As a result, the Theatre Royal staged a major community production of Ben Hur in 2010, giving around 120 local people the opportunity to perform on the Main House stage for the first time, working with a professional team and supported by a large company of volunteers. Soon after the Theatre Royal’s Engage programme was launched.
Over the past two years, the charitable trust has continued to support the Engage programme. Highlights include the Elevate community festival, staged in 2023 and 2024, which welcomed 46 local theatre companies to perform under the Theatre Royal Bath’s roof.
Engage now boasts a range of community companies, including a dedicated Elders group and a partnership with Achieve Together for adults living with learning difficulties, deafness and complex needs.
Plans have recently been announced for a second large-scale community play, a staging of David Copperfield, which is scheduled to take place at the Theatre Royal in 2026.
Looking ahead to Venue 4, Danny Moar added: “Further design work will now progress to a final blueprint for the space.
“We are keen to hear from more community groups who think they might like to use the space, and from individuals or businesses who would like to get involved in supporting this project.”
