Strode Theatre is a mixed arts venue in

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

, Somerset, England. It has a 1960s two-tiered 343 seat purpose-built main theatre and a versatile modern Studio space, with retractable seating for 64. It hosts a programme of live professional and amateur theatre productions, live folk, classical and rock/pop music; popular, European and art-house film; live broadcasts from major international venues, such as London's National Theatre and New York's Metropolitan Opera; and visual arts exhibitions. Strode Theatre is part of

Strode College Strode College is a tertiary institution and a further education college situated in Street, Somerset, England offering Sixth Form education as well as Higher Education courses. In October 2014, the college was rated as "Outstanding" by Ofste ...

, but operates independently and is largely self-financing, while providing a rehearsal and performance arts facility, and a programme of events for students from the college.

Building

The building's structure is conventional, with a

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

arch stage. The two tiers of seats are set at a steep gradient, with the option to just use the stalls for smaller performances. The

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

is convertible to allow for different types of performances.

Finance

Strode Theatre received financial support from

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

Mendip District Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The district covers a largely rural area of with a population of approximately 112,500, ranging from the Wiltshire border in the east to part of the Somerset Levels in the west. Th ...

Council until funding to the arts ceased in 2011. it continues to receive a small grant Street Parish Council, and a contribution from Strode College. The theatre is otherwise an entirely self-financing entity; mainly from Box office revenue and other subsidiary revenue, such as the Café-Bar, art exhibition sales and advertising. The Friends of Strode Theatre are a separate charity, who raise funds through membership and fundraising events to support the theatre with grants for capital spending projects, such as technical developments and refurbishments.

History

Strode Theatre opened as a community theatre on 5 October 1963 with a performance by the

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

. It was funded by the Clark Foundation, set up by the Clarks brothers, in response to plans to build a college nearby. It is named after the 17th-century politician and philanthropist,

William Strode William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in ...

. In 1994, the theatre was redecorated during works which included new carpets and heating system, costing £115,000 (). In 1999 the theatre was expanded with a new foyer, bar and box office along with rehearsal space, meeting room and stage access, at a cost of £750,000 by the Steel, Coleman Davis partnership who received an award for the design. The expansion was funded by the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

, and it was at this point that it became part of Strode College, and began use as a cinema as well as associating with organisations such as Strode Opera. In 2016, the rehearsal space was converted into a multi-purpose studio space, with retractable seating for 64 people. By 1984, the theatre was receiving 30,000 visitors each year. Today it receives 60,000 visitors per year, and is an increasingly busy venue, serving communities throughout mid-Somerset, but also drawing audiences for some events from Bristol, Devon, Dorset, South Wales and Gloucestershire.

References

{{Authority control 1963 establishments in England Theatres completed in 1963 Theatres in Somerset Street, Somerset Cinemas in Somerset