The Coronet Theatre, formerly The Print Room, is an Off West End theatre located in the former Coronet Cinema in London. The building originated as a theatre in 1898; the modern company was founded in

Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of west London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in th ...

, West London, and opened in September 2010. It produces a programme of theatre, art, dance, poetry, film and music. The theatre is run by Artistic Director Anda Winters. The Coronet Theatre currently operates using the 195-seat main auditorium, and a smaller, 100-seat

black box theatre A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

and studio space called The Print Room. The Coronet Theatre stages lesser-known work by classic authors such as T.S Eliot,

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

and Harold Pinter, and new works by contemporary dramatists such as

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

and Will Eno.

History

Building origins

The Coronet Theatre was designed as a theatre by leading architect W. G. R. Sprague at a cost of £25,000 and opened in 1898. It was described in ''The Era'' as a "theatre of which the whole country may be proud". Famous actors who appeared at the theatre in its early days included

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

and Sarah Bernhardt. It suffered, however, from being outside the traditional London theatrical district of the West End, whilst being sufficiently close to that district (unlike other provincial theatres) to find itself in competition with it.

Switch to cinema

In 1916, films were shown at the theatre for the first time, as part of variety programmes mixing live and filmed performances. In 1923, it became a cinema full-time, and capacity was reduced from 1,143 to 1,010 seats, but it retained, as it still does, its original theatre interior, consisting of stalls and two upper tiers (a dress circle and a gallery). However, the boxes on each side of the auditorium, next to the stage, were removed in 1931. The stage was blocked off, and the cinema screen is placed within the proscenium arch. The projection equipment was housed in the former dress circle bar. In 1931, the cinema became part of

Gaumont British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

, and it was at this time that the theatre boxes were removed. In 1950, it was renamed the Gaumont and the upper tier was closed for seating, and capacity was therefore reduced to 196 in the dress circle and 319 in the stalls, a total of 515. In 1972, the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...

(which had taken over Gaumont) proposed to demolish the building, but a local campaign based upon its architectural merit and its interesting history secured its survival and, indeed, refurbishment. In 1977 it was sold by Rank to an independent cinema operator, and its name reverted to the Coronet. The new owners replaced the seating in the stalls so as to provide more legroom, reducing the total cinema capacity to 399 seats. In 1989, the building was again under threat, but it was protected by a Grade II listing and the threat passed. In 1996, a second screen with seating for 151 was opened in the stage area. In 2004, the Coronet was acquired by the

Kensington Temple Kensington Temple is a Pentecostal Church in the Notting Hill area of London, England. It is pastored by Reverend Mark Ryan, and is the largest church in its denomination, the Elim Pentecostal Church. History The present church building was foun ...

, a large local Pentecostal church congregation. However, it continued to offer mainstream independent cinema programming, without any censorship or Christian slant. It was, for example, the cinema at which David Cameron was reported in the press to have watched

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by ...

on its opening night. In June 2014, it was announced that the Coronet had been acquired by nearby fringe theatre ''The Print Room'', which planned to make it its new home.BBC News, 23 June 2014: ''Notting Hill's Coronet cinema to become theatre''
Linked 24 June 2014

Print Room original premises

The theatre began in a converted 1950s warehouse which had served as a graphic design workshop in Westbourne Grove. The venue had two spaces: an 80-seater studio, which was used for its larger productions, and a 40-seater space for smaller theatre pieces, play readings, and art exhibitions.

Print Room moves to new premises

In July 2014, it was announced that The Print Room was taking over the

Coronet Cinema The Coronet Theatre, formerly The Print Room, is an Off West End theatre located in the former Coronet Cinema in London. The building originated as a theatre in 1898; the modern company was founded in Westbourne Grove, West London, and opened i ...

Notting Hill Gate Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name. Location At Ossington Street/Ke ...

as its new home. In May 2019, Print Room at the Coronet re-branded the company to the original 1898 name ''The Coronet Theatre''.

Productions

* ''Fabrication'' by

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

(10 November – 4 December 2010) * ''

Snake in the Grass ''Snake in the Grass'' is a 2002 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The play is about a middle-aged older sister who returns to the family home where her younger sister still lives, shortly after their abusive father's death. It was wri ...

'' by Alan Ayckbourn (9 February – 12 March 2011) * '' Kingdom of Earth'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

(28 April – 28 May 2011) * "Devils Festival" a two-week festival featuring work from the theatre's artistic apprentices: The Printer's Devils (18 June – 2 July 2011) * '' One for the Road/ Victoria Station'' by Harold Pinter (13 September – 1 October 2011) * ''Judgement Day'' by

Mike Poulton Mike Poulton is an English writer, translator and adapter of classic plays for contemporary audiences. He has been Tony nominated for his play 'Fortune's Fool' along with his adaptations of 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies'. Poulton began his ...

, a new version of Henrik Ibsen's ''When We Dead Awaken'' (16 November – 17 December 2011) * ''The Brodsky Quartet: Petit Fours'' (28 February 2012) * ''Toujours Et Pres de Moi'', a Print Room/Opera Erratica co-production (14–26 May 2012) * ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

'' by Anton Chekhov in a new version by

(21 March – 28 April, and extended 18 June – 7 July 2012) * ''Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)'' by Will Eno (15 September – 12 January 2008) * ''Lot and His God'' by

Howard Barker Howard Barker (born 28 June 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter and writer of radio drama, painter, poet, and essayist writing predominantly on playwriting and the theatre. The author of an extensive body of dramatic works since the 197 ...

(3–24 November 2012) * ''Ivy and Joan'' by James Hogan (14 January – 26 November 2013) * ''

Molly Sweeney ''Molly Sweeney'' is a two-act play by Brian Friel. It tells the story of its title character, Molly, a woman blind since infancy, who undergoes an operation to try to restore her sight. Like Friel's '' Faith Healer'', the play tells Molly's sto ...

'' by

(27 April – 27 March 2013) * ''Screaming in Advance'' – a two-day festival, comprising four new plays in rehearsed readings performed by members of the company, and

in discussion with the company and the journalist Mark Brown. * ''4000 Miles'' by

Amy Herzog Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play ''4000 Miles'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play ''Mary Jane'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Aw ...

(14 May – 1 June 2013) * ''Tutto Bene, Mamma?'' by Gloria Mina in a new English version by April de Angelis (15 June – 6 July 2013) * ''The Summer Concerts'', featuring Antonio Forcione and Adriano Adewale Duo, Death's Cabaret: A Love Story and L'Homme Orchestre: Jean Michel Bernard (30 June – 11 July 2013) * ''

The Last Yankee ''The Last Yankee'' is a play by Arthur Miller, which premiered on January 5, 1993 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The cast included Tom Aldredge as John Frick, Frances Conroy as Patricia Hamilton, Rose Gregorio as Karen Frick, J ...

'' by

(7 September – 5 October 2013) * ''

The Dumb Waiter ''The Dumb Waiter'' is a one-act play by Harold Pinter written in 1957. "Small but perfectly formed, ''The Dumb Waiter'' might be considered the best of Harold Pinter's early plays, more consistent than ''The Birthday Party'' and sharper tha ...

'' by Harold Pinter (27 October – 23 November 2013) * ''Amygdala'' by Geraldine Alexander (25 November – 14 December 2013) * ''

The Cocktail Party ''The Cocktail Party'' is a play by T. S. Eliot. The play was the most popular of Eliot's seven plays in his lifetime, although his 1935 play, '' Murder in the Cathedral'', is better remembered today. It focuses on a troubled married couple who, ...

'' by

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

(14 September – 10 October 2015) * ''

Ubu and the Truth Commission ''Ubu and the Truth Commission'' is a South African play by Jane Taylor. It was first produced on 26 May 1997, directed by William Kentridge at The Laboratory in Johannesburg's Market Theatre. Produced by the Handspring Puppet Company, and empl ...

'' directed by

William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films, especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by ...

in collaboration with

Handspring Puppet Company The Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg and Jill Joubert. It is based in Cape Town, South Africa. History Jones and Kohler met at the Michael ...

(15 October 2015 – 7 November 2015) * ''Trois Ruptures/Three Splits'' by Remi De Vos (11 November 2015 – 18 November 2015) * ''Table of Delights'' by Theatre Damfino (23 November 2015 – 13 December 2015) * '' Five Finger Exercise'' by

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

(18 January – 13 February 2016) * ''Terra'', written by Hubert Essakow and performed by the Print Room Dance Company (23 February – 12 March 2016) * '' Deathwatch'' by Jean Genet and translated by David Rudkin (11 April – 7 May 2016) * ''In the Depths of Love'' by

(15 January – 7 February 2017) * ''Trouble in Mind'' by

Alice Childress Alice Childress (October 12, 1916 – August 14, 1994) was an American novelist, playwright, and actress, acknowledged as "the only African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic ...

(14 September – 14 October)

Awards & nominations

* Peter Brook Empty Space Award Nominee 2011 * Off West End Award for Best Set Designer 2012, for ''Kingdom of Earth'', won by Ruth SutcliffeOffWestEnd.com: ''2012 Offie winners announced''
Relinked 2014-06-24 * Off West End Award for Best Sound Designer 2012, for ''Snake in The Grass'', won by Neil Alexander * Off West End Award for Best Production 2013, for ''

''OffWestEnd.com: ''Photos of the Offies 2013 winners''
Linked 2014-06-24

In popular culture

The Coronet featured in the 1999 film ''Notting Hill'', as the cinema where a sad Will Thacker (

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

) watches a film with his big love Anna Scott (

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

) after they have separated. Also, it is the home of the character Matt Hatter in the animated series '' Matt Hatter Chronicles''.

References

Bibliography

* Barbara Denny, ''Notting Hill and Holland Park Past'', Historical Publications, 1993,

External links

* *
arthurlloyd.co.uk: History of the Coronet Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coronet Theatre, The Theatres in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Theatres completed in 1898 Buildings and structures in Notting Hill Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II listed theatres Former cinemas in London History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea