The Hawth Theatre is an arts and entertainment complex located in of woodland about from the town centre of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

town of

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

. It is wholly owned by Crawley Borough Council and is currently operated by Parkwood Theatres.

History

The

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of Crawley had been without a theatre since its inception in 1947, leading, in part, a local newspaper editor to describe the town as soulless. In 1986, plans were approved by the

borough council A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

for a new theatre in an area of woodland known locally as The Hawth. Development began quickly, and the theatre opened for the first time in April 1988. In 1992, the theatre hosted a performance of London City Ballet's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', which was attended by the then Her Royal Highness

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

Facilities

Main auditorium

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 ...

seats up to 855 for performances, and can be converted to an exhibition or conference venue. The stage is around wide, with a depth of , and is equipped to a high standard with sound, lighting and staging facilities.

Studio

The Studio provides a smaller performance space, seating 146 people which hosts small-scale

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

, theatre, jazz, blues, folk and comedy. The space can be used in a flat-floor format so can be converted for film previews, club nights, cabaret seated events, workshops and rehearsals.

Amphitheatre

There is an amphitheatre performance area in the woodland at the rear of the theatre, where summer productions are performed, including productions of Shakespeare and children's theatre, as well as being used during the Crawley Folk Festival and Crawley International Mela.

Other facilities

Other performance spaces include a permanent foyer exhibition space, an on-site restaurant as well as two bars. Also during the summer a marquee is erected on the lawns to host Crawley Folk Festival, Crawley Mela and world music performances.

Programme

The theatre is mainly used to house touring productions, and has in the past seen presentations across a range of types, from movies to opera. The theatre also housed its own resident production company - Shaker Productions - in the 1990s. It now plays home to Pitchy Breath Theatre Company - a group committed to producing one newly written piece each year. In addition, other events have visited the Hawth, ranging from circus and

juggling convention Many countries, cities or juggling clubs hold their own annual juggling convention or juggling festivals. These are the backbone of the juggling scene, the events that regularly bring jugglers from a wide area together to socialize. The attendanc ...

s, to the hustings for conservative party leader elections in 2001.

References

External links

Hawth Theatre
{{coord, 51, 06, 42, N, 0, 10, 28, W, type:landmark, display=title Theatres in West Sussex Buildings and structures in Crawley Organisations based in Crawley Theatres completed in 1988