The Unicorn Theatre is a

children's 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 the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

, in England. It is a custom-built,

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Award–winning building on

Tooley Street Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) St Olave The earliest na ...

, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup and comprises two theatre spaces (the Weston and Clore Theatres), an education studio, rehearsal space, café and the John Lyon meeting room. The theatre was founded in 1947, by Caryl Jenner, originally as a mobile theatre; In 1961, Jenner began presenting children's productions at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...

in the West End, and in 1967 the company took over the lease of the theatre which then became Unicorn's permanent performing base until 1999; during this period the normal run of adult performances continued during the evenings. The Unicorn is a registered charity and is an

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 ...

National Portfolio organisation.

Origins

From 1944 Caryl Jenner wrote Christmas pantomimes for small-time playhouses. During performances she would make note of the behaviour of the children, recording what scenes and sequences held their attention, and which did not. In November 1949 Caryl Jenner created the Mobile Theatre Ltd. Jenner's mission was to drive around the towns of Britain, as well as isolated villages to bring theatre to new audiences. They supplemented their income by performing to adults in the evenings. In 1962, the name changed again, to the Unicorn Theatre Club. In 1967, the company gave up touring having received an annual grant from the Arts Council, took up the lease at the

in London, which remained its home until the present Unicorn Theatre was built in 2005. Jenner died on 29 January 1973 at the age of 55.

Presidents

The current president is

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadi ...

, who took over from

Sir Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director o ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2007.

Artistic directors

* Caryl Jenner (1947–1973) * Matyelok Gibbs (1973–1977) * Nicholas Barter (1977–1986) * Chris Wallis (1986–1990) * Richard Williams (1990–1997) * Tony Graham (1997–2011) * Purni Morell (2011–2017) * Justin Audibert (from 2018)

Gallery

File:Unicorn Auditorium press size.jpg, The Weston Theatre, the Unicorn's main stage, seating approximately 290. File:KWA Building Shots 009 press size.jpg, Exterior of the Unicorn Theatre designed by Keith Williams.

References

Sources

*''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'', Phyllis Hartnoll (ed),

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 1983. .

External links

Official website
*Th
Arts Theatre and Unicorn Theatre Archive
is held by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Theatre and Performance Department. {{Authority control 1947 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 2005 Theatres in the London Borough of Southwark Children's theatre