The Barnfield Theatre is a theatre in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, located near the centre of the city on Barnfield Road, Southernhay. It was originally built as the Barnfield Hall near the end of the 19th century by Exeter Literary Society, and was converted to a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in 1972. Today the theatre is operated as a charity and is used as a venue for amateur and professional theatrical companies. The building is owned by

Exeter City Council Exeter City Council is the council and local government of the city of Exeter, Devon. History Proposed unitary authority status The government proposed that the city should become an independent unitary authority within Devon, much like neighb ...

and was leased to Barnfield Theatre Limited, who ran the theatre until December 2021, when its management was taken over by the

Northcott Theatre The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England. It opened in 1967 and was run until 2010 by the Northcott Theatre Foundation, when the company ceased operating after a pe ...

Facilities

The main

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

is fully furnished with

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

equipment, and has 289

tip-up seat A folding seat is a seat that folds away so as to occupy less space. When installed on a transit bus, it makes room for a wheelchair or two. When installed on a passenger car, it provides extra seating. In churches, it may have a projection cal ...

s which were reupholstered in 2005 and are in full

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

for complete view of the stage from all parts of the seating. It is suitable for conferences, lectures and displays as well as stage productions. The Clifford Room can be used for many purposes, such as a studio theatre or a conference room. The seating is modular and can be raked, and can be arranged for any theatrical requirements (e.g.

theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...

, traverse, etc.). It was renamed as the Clifford Room after Clifford Scott in 2007, having previously been the Bedford Room. The room can accommodate up to 80 people seated. The main foyer to the theatre was lightly updated in 2015. The space now houses the Barnfield Theatre Front of House Gallery, which is used by professional and amateur artists, photographers and creative groups to display their work.

References

External links

Barnfield TheatreExeter City Council
{{coord, 50, 43, 22.6, N, 3, 31, 32.8, W, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB Theatres in Devon Buildings and structures in Exeter Tourist attractions in Exeter