The Congress Theatre is a Grade II* listed, purpose-built, modern theatre and conference venue in the seaside town of Eastbourne, East Sussex. It is one of the largest theatres in southern England, with seating capacity of 1,689. The theatre was designed in 1958 and built 1961-3 by Bryan and Norman Westwood Architects. Ove Arup and Partners were engineers.[1] The theatre underwent major refurbishment in 2019, to reveal a bright and contemporary look, whilst fully maintaining the character of the original design. Shows include touring West End theatre, ballet, opera, comedy and live music.
Extensive acoustic testing took place in 1964 with local schools taking part clapping, shouting and reacting to loud, off-stage bangs. The first performances took place on 22nd and 23rd January, 1965. The first half of the programme was a classical concert given by The Arriaga String Quartet and the second half was a performance of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde with 14 local schools participating. The soloists were Sheila Rex and Owen Brannigan. Britten himself attended one of the dress rehearsals.[2]
It was the location for the final recorded concert by the American pianist, composer and band leader Duke Ellington on 1 December 1973. Ellington died five months later in May 1974.
Facilities
The theatre has a licensed bar, cloakroom facilities, disabled facilities (including an infrared system for the hard of hearing) and public phones (available in the foyer)
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992.
The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall.
The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can seat 2,348 people.
Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is called Hamelesham. In one part yet, mentioned in other part of the same book as ‘’’Tilux’’’, the land of Ricard de Tunbrige. The town of Hailsham has a history of industry and agriculture.
The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good acoustics. It specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals, and hosts over five hundred concerts each year, as well as a weekly concert broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded in 1880 after Henry Simmons Frieze, founder and president of the Choral Union and the University Musical Society, urged leaders to include music among the school's offerings. The college was known then as the Ann Arbor School of Music. It was later incorporated into the University of Michigan with Calvin Brainerd Cady joining the faculty as the first instructor in music, after already being hired by Frieze to conduct the Choral Union.
Snape Maltings Concert Hall is an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, England. It is best known as one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. It is now one of two headquarters for Britten Pears Arts, with the other being The Red House.
The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Constructed in 1929 as a cinema, it is one of several theatres in the city centre and one of two operated by the Ambassador Theatre Group on behalf of Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The building was converted for full-time use as a theatre in 1999, and since then has hosted a number of shows and musicals. The theatre is also the northern base for the Glyndebourne Touring Opera.
The Madam C. J. Walker Building, which houses the Madam Walker Legacy Center, was built in 1927 in the city of Indianapolis, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and as Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The four-story, multi-purpose Walker Building was named in honor of Madam C. J. Walker, the African American hair care and beauty products entrepreneur who founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, and designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of Rubush & Hunter. The building served as the world headquarters for Walker's company, as well as entertainment, business, and commercial hub along Indiana Avenue for the city's African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. The historic gathering place and venue for community events and arts and cultural programs were saved from demolition in the 1970s. The restored building, which includes African, Egyptian, and Moorish designs, is one of the few remaining African-Art Deco buildings in the United States. The Walker Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Gran Teatro de La Habana is a theater in Havana, Cuba, home to the Cuban National Ballet. It was designed by the Belgian architect Paul Belau and built by Purdy and Henderson, Engineers in 1914 at the site of the former Teatro Tacón. Its construction was paid for by the Galician immigrants of Havana to serve as a community-social center. Located in the Paseo del Prado, its facilities include theatres, a concert hall, conference rooms, a video screening room, as well as an art gallery, a choral center and several rehearsal halls for dance companies. It hosts the International Ballet Festival of Havana every two years since 1960.
The Dock Street Theatre is a theater in the historic French Quarter neighborhood of downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
Eden Court Theatre is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland close to the banks of the River Ness. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and major extension, adding a second theatre, two dedicated cinema screens, two performance/dance studios, improved dressing room and green room facilities and additional office space. The theatre's restaurant and bar facilities have also been totally overhauled and improved.
Eastbourne is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, 19 miles (31 km) east of Brighton and 54 miles (87 km) south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the larger Eastbourne Downland Estate.
Henry Currey (1820–1900) was an English architect and surveyor.
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmospheric cinema", to house entertainment extravaganzas which included a film show. It later became an ordinary cinema, then a music venue, as which it is best known, and then an occasional unlicensed boxing venue. Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church.
Eastbourne Performance is a live album by the American pianist, composer and band leader Duke Ellington, featuring his concerts at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, England, in December 1973. It was released on the RCA label in 1975. It is his last concert to have been commercially released.
The Seymour Centre is a multi-purpose performing arts centre within the University of Sydney in the Australian city of Sydney. It is located on the corner of City Road and Cleveland Street in Chippendale, south-west of the city centre, in the City of Sydney local government area.
Britten Pears Arts is a pioneering cultural charity based in Suffolk, England. It emerged from the determination of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, to ensure that everyone could enjoy and experience music. Britten Pears Arts aims to continue their legacy to develop talent, celebrate their heritage and engage with communities. The organisation uses music to transform people's lives, to bring communities together and enhance daily life.
Our Lady of Ransom Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Eastbourne, East Sussex. It was founded as a mission in 1869, built from 1900 to 1903, and had extensions completed in 1926. It is situated on the corner of Meads Road and Grange Road, opposite Eastbourne Town F.C. in the centre of the town. It was designed by Frederick Walters and is a Grade II listed building.
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