The Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by the artist Henry Bird.[1] A variety of productions are held throughout the year such as drama, ballet, opera and pantomime. The venue has a seating capacity of 763 and can be converted into a cinema as it has a large screen giving full Cinemascope and standard film format.[2]
The Ashcroft Theatre was opened on 5 November 1962 by Dame Peggy Ashcroft. The opening ceremony included the reading of a monologue specially penned by Sir John Betjeman called ‘Local Girl Makes Good'. The first play was ‘Royal Gambit' starring Dulcie Gray.[3] Those to have trodden the boards at The Ashcroft Theatre include Richard Todd, Rex Harrison and Dame Peggy herself.[3]
The auditorium is on two tiers with the stalls heavily raked. The front of the circle is unadorned and the straight walls have natural finishes. The stage, with false proscenium, is well equipped with 30 single purchase counterweight sets for flying, and an orchestra pit on a hydraulic lift which can accommodate up to 16 players. Alterations to the forestage were undertaken to lessen the barrier provided by the original Juliet balcony and side door structures.[3]
The theatre closed in 2016 for renovation work on the Fairfield Halls, and reopened in September 2019. During the refurbishment, the centre aisles of the theatre were removed to create a Continental Auditorium seating arrangement,[4] increasing capacity to 798 without kills.[5] Further works in January 2020 replaced the recycled seating from before the renovation works with new grey seating, creating a much more modern look.
^"Ashcroft Theatre - the Safety Curtain". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2010. Henry Bird and his Theatrical Mural on the Ashcroft Theatre Safety Curtain, Croydon
^"Ashford Theatre Technical Specifications" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ abc"Fairfield at 50". Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"Ashcroft Playhouse - Fairfield Halls". Archived from the original on 19 March 2020.
AshcroftTheatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft...
middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become an actress, despite parental opposition. She was working in smaller theatres even before...
playing the role of Wishee Washee in Aladdin alongside Larry Lamb at the AshcroftTheatre in Croydon. The following year, Tracini returned to the role of Buttons...
Wimbledon Theatre, the Rudolph Steiner Theatre in Westminster, the AshcroftTheatre in Croydon, Secombe Theatre in Sutton, the Churchill Theatre in Bromley...
Cambridge Theatre in Marcelle Maurette's Anastasia in October 1976, and the AshcroftTheatre in London as Jackie Jackson in a Cambridge Theatre Company...
a half series from 1974–76. After The Brothers, he worked regularly in theatre and his television work became less frequent, although he guest-starred...
consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the AshcroftTheatre and the Arnhem Gallery. Fairfield is the home of the London Mozart...
for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, dance, applied theatre, production arts and the creative arts film and media...
Women (2012–2018, 2020–present). As a founder student of Anna Scher's Theatre School, Robson had a significant number of appearances on screen as a child...
Finchley) Ashcroft_Theatre at Fairfield Halls - 755 (Croydon) The Barbican Theatre, at the Barbican Arts Centre - 1155 (City of London) Barons Court Theatre -...
Assassin, Brighton in 1984 in Love Affair with Siân Phillips, and at the AshcroftTheatre, Croydon in 1985 in On Approval with Polly James and Christopher Biggins...
the Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe, the Orchard Theatre, Dartford, the Grand Opera House, Belfast, the Beck Theatre, Hayes and the AshcroftTheatre, Croydon...
at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Barrie appeared in pantomime as a child and was a dancer before...
in the films The Hill (1965), Repulsion (1965), Get Carter (1971), and Theatre of Blood (1973). Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, on 13 January 1931...
School for Girls, Kingsway College of Further Education and the Anna Scher Theatre School in London. She started her acting career in the 1970s and before...
building's concert hall has 1,801 seats (counting the choir stalls), the AshcroftTheatre has 755, and the Arnhem Gallery is used for standing concerts of up...
and was formerly the home of ITV's World of Sport. It includes the AshcroftTheatre and the Arnhem Gallery. Croydon Palace was the summer residence of...
House Wettern House Notable lowrises Addington Palace Airport House AshcroftTheatre Bridge House BRIT School Christ Church, Croydon Croydon College Croydon...
to Nowhere by Sean Cook was produced at the AshcroftTheatre in Croydon in October 2013. "Warehouse Theatre". London Borough of Croydon, UK. Retrieved...
like. After training at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Sawalha began her career in theatre.[citation needed] From 1997 to 1999, she starred in...
of Mrs Bird in the musical production of Maggie May at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. In 2022, she played a fictionalised version of herself in...
actress at the age of 4 and spanned 30 years in film, television and the theatre. She was born in Ringwood, England on 23 August 1941. Her mother, Margaret...
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