The theatre closed in 1997 after the loss of public funding. A charitable trust was set up to operate it and the theatre re-opened as the Leatherhead Theatre in 2001,[4] with seating reduced to 495 plus three wheelchair places.
History
The Thorndike Theatre opened in 1969 as a replacement for the 300-seat Ace Cinema in Leatherhead High Street. The cinema had originally been built in 1890 as the Victoria Hall.[5]Hazel Vincent Wallace had started the Leatherhead Theatre Group there, attracting West End stars for three week runs.[6] As performances became more popular, Wallace found its size had become restrictive and there was a need for a new and better-equipped performing arts venue in the town.[7]
The Thorndike Theatre, in Church Street, was designed by Roderick Ham[8] in the modernist style.[9] It was rebuilt from the former Crescent Cinema, which was originally constructed in 1939 and which was run by a local family until the 1960s.[10][11] Although the exterior walls of the Crescent were retained, the interior, including the 526-seat auditorium and lobby, was built anew.[7] Wallace approached actor Sybil Thorndike who agreed to have her name on the new theatre.[6] Wallace also raised the majority of the construction costs through public appeals, with some additional funding from the Leatherhead Urban District Council and the Arts Council.[7][6] The building also included a studio theatre, the Casson Room, for smaller-scale performances including youth productions. The Thorndike Theatre was opened in September 1969 by Princess Margaret.[10][12]
Although it was initially popular, the Thorndike Theatre regularly ran operating deficits.[7] Following several years of cuts in public subsidy,[7] it launched an appeal for £350,000 in February 1988, which was supported by the playwright, Alan Ayckbourn, actors, Prunella Scales and Timothy West, and the local MP, Kenneth Baker.[13] The theatre briefly closed in July 1990,[14][15] but reopened three months later following a rescue bid led by the producer and businessman, Bill Kenwright.[16] It closed again in April 1997 with a total debt of almost £1.2 million.[7][17][18] A second reopening followed in October 1997,[19][20] but closed just over a month later after the new operators, Screenworks, entered voluntary liquidation owing £400,000.[21][22]
The theatre was Grade II-listed in July 1999.[23] It reopened in 2001 as a part-time theatre,[17] cinema, community space and meeting place for the evangelical group, Pioneer People.[9][10] The annual Leatherhead Drama Festival, for amateur theatre groups, was launched at the theatre in 2004 and ran for 16 years.[24]
Vardey, Edwina, ed. (1988). History of Leatherhead: a town at the crossroads. Leatherhead: Leatherhead and District Local History Society. ISBN978-0-95-060091-8.
Vardey, Edwina (2001). Leatherhead: A history. Chichester: Phillimore. ISBN1-86077-189-0.
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