Nottingham Theatre Guide: What's On

Nottingham has a theatre culture built on two complementary institutions that stand adjacent to each other in the city centre: the Nottingham Playhouse, a producing house with a long history of making original work for local and national audiences, and the Theatre Royal Nottingham, the city's main venue for large-scale touring productions. Together they give Nottingham audiences access to both locally produced theatre and the national touring circuit, and the combination makes the city's provision unusual in its range relative to cities of comparable size. This guide covers both main venues, the kinds of work each programmes, and the practical information for audiences visiting Nottingham for a theatrical evening. The Nottingham Playhouse on Wellington Circus is one of the most significant regional producing houses in Britain, with a history stretching back to 1948 and a record of developing work that reaches national and international audiences. The current building, opened in 1963, is a distinctive piece of mid-century architecture designed by Peter Moro, and it sits in the cultural quarter of the city centre alongside other civic buildings. The Playhouse's producing model means it makes its own productions rather than simply receiving touring shows. The programme includes new British writing, productions of classic texts and family productions, with a particular commitment to serving the broad demographic of Nottingham audiences rather than producing work primarily for a metropolitan or specialist audience. Productions developed at the Playhouse have transferred to the West End and to other regional theatres, and the artistic quality of the work produced there is recognised nationally. The main auditorium at the Playhouse seats approximately 750 people in a roughly fan-shaped arrangement that maintains reasonable proximity between the audience and the stage across most of the house. A smaller studio space, the Neville Studio, programmes more experimental and smaller-scale work alongside the main house programme, giving the Playhouse the range to programme across different scales and idioms within the same building. The Playhouse has strong community and education programmes that extend its reach beyond the core ticketed audience, and its position as a civic institution in Nottingham gives it a different character from purely commercial venues. For audiences visiting Nottingham from outside the city, the Playhouse represents what regional theatre can achieve when it takes its purpose seriously. The Theatre Royal Nottingham on Theatre Square is the city's primary venue for large-scale touring productions, receiving the commercial touring circuit of West End transfers and national tours that makes up much of the theatrical fare available to audiences outside London. The building is a Victorian theatre with an ornate interior that was comprehensively refurbished in the 1970s and again in subsequent decades, retaining its historic character while modernising its facilities. The Theatre Royal has a capacity of approximately 1,200 seats across three levels: Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle. The scale and technical infrastructure of the stage suit the large-format productions of the touring circuit, and the programme throughout the year typically includes several large-scale musicals, plays and family productions. Productions like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton have all toured to Nottingham as part of their national touring runs, and the Theatre Royal is one of the key venues on the touring circuit for the East Midlands region. The Victorian auditorium at the Theatre Royal has a traditional character that many audiences find appealing. The tiers of boxes, the decorated plasterwork and the relatively intimate proportions of the house give it an atmosphere that differs from purpose-built modern touring venues. For audiences who value the historic experience of the Victorian theatre alongside the contemporary content of the touring programme, the Theatre Royal provides both. The national touring circuit brings productions of major West End musicals and plays to both the Theatre Royal and, for larger productions, to the Theatre Royal's main stage. The circuit is the same one that supplies touring productions to comparable venues across the country, and productions rotate through a schedule of venues over the course of their national tour. Ticket prices for touring productions in Nottingham are generally lower than equivalent performances of the same production in London. For audiences in the East Midlands who want to see a major production without the additional cost and logistical complexity of a trip to London, the Theatre Royal provides practical access to the touring circuit at competitive prices. The Nottingham Playhouse also occasionally presents work that originates at other regional producing theatres as part of co-production and visiting production arrangements, widening its programme beyond its own productions. The two venues together provide most of the theatrical options available in the city. Nottingham is well connected to the national rail network, with direct services from London St Pancras on the Midland Main Line, a journey of approximately 90 to 100 minutes. Services from Sheffield, Derby and Leicester also connect to Nottingham's main railway station. Both the Theatre Royal and the Nottingham Playhouse are located in the city centre, approximately fifteen to twenty minutes on foot from Nottingham station. Tram services from the station and bus routes provide additional connections to the theatre quarter for audiences who prefer not to walk. The Nottingham tram network (NET) connects the station to the Old Market Square area, from which the theatres are a short walk. The city centre has a range of pre-theatre dining options in the vicinity of both venues, and the Wellington Circus and Theatre Square areas are established parts of Nottingham's cultural and social infrastructure. For the national touring programme and to find out when productions are scheduled to visit Nottingham, BritishTheatre.com lists touring productions across all UK theatre venues. For West End productions that subsequently tour to venues including the Theatre Royal Nottingham, tickadoo covers the full London programme with seat maps and pricing. tickadoo also offers theatre gift vouchers. What are the main theatres in Nottingham? The Nottingham Playhouse on Wellington Circus and the Theatre Royal Nottingham on Theatre Square are the city's two principal venues. The Playhouse is a producing house making its own work; the Theatre Royal is the main touring venue receiving commercial touring productions. Does Nottingham get West End touring shows? Yes. The Theatre Royal Nottingham receives major touring productions from the national circuit, including transfers of West End musicals and plays. Productions like Les Misérables and Hamilton have toured to Nottingham. How do I get to the theatres in Nottingham city centre? Both the Theatre Royal and the Nottingham Playhouse are in the city centre, approximately fifteen to twenty minutes on foot from Nottingham railway station. Tram and bus connections from the station provide an alternative to walking. What is the Nottingham Playhouse? The Nottingham Playhouse is a producing theatre that makes its own productions, rather than receiving touring shows. It has a long history as one of Britain's significant regional producing houses and programmes new writing, classic texts and family productions from its Wellington Circus base.