The Arena Theatre is situated on Wulfruna Street in
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
and is part of the
University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...
's city campus. The venue's main auditorium seats 150 people and is used for both professional touring shows and for local community groups.
History
In 1967, Philip Tilstone, the first lecturer in drama at the University of Wolverhampton, which was then the Wolverhampton College of Technology, wanted to establish the drama not just at the university, but in Wolverhampton, too. He was committed to providing a range of performance events for both students and the local community. Alongside his colleague, the late Dr. Percy Young, the director of music at the college, Tilstone gave music students the opportunity to perform, and these performance events would justify the provision of a fully equipped theatre/workshop venue, the Arena Theatre, with shared access for students and visiting performers. In 1989, Kevin O'Sullivan became the administrator for the Arena Theatre. He was subsequently the theatre manager until his retirement in 2013. Student work was frequently performed at the Arena Theatre and local audiences continued to benefit from the range and quality of its professional programming.
The Arena Theatre continued to act as an essential resource for drama and provided a first class performance venue for the region. Students from surrounding colleges and schools, members of local drama groups and arts organisations all made extensive use of the theatre. As well as being a successful venue in the local community, the Arena Theatre became a hotspot for touring theatre. Numerous prestigious companies touring shows to the Arena during this period included
Kneehigh Theatre
Kneehigh Theatre was an international touring theatre company founded in 1980 by Mike Shepherd and based in Cornwall, England. The company was based in barns on the southern Cornish coast, at Gorran Haven, but the administration was in Truro. ...
,
Royal National Theatre
The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
,
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
Cheek by Jowl
Cheek by Jowl is an international theatre company founded in the United Kingdom by director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod in 1981. Donnellan and Ormerod are Cheek by Jowl's artistic directors and together direct and design all of ...
,
Market Theatre (Johannesburg)
The Market Theatre, based in the downtown bohemian suburb of Newtown, Johannesburg, Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independent, Anti-racism, anti-racist theatre during the country's apartheid regime. I ...
ATC Theatre
Actors Touring Company (ATC) is a touring theatre company based in London, founded in 1978 by Artistic Director John Retallack. Previous Artistic Directors have included Mark Brickman, Ceri Sherlock, Nick Philippou, Gordon Anderson, Bijan Sheib ...
, Snarling Beasties and The Right Size. In addition to these, the Arena Theatre welcomed local professional touring companies from the West Midlands, Foursight Theatre, Theatre Foundry and Pentabus. As well as these, there were dance performances, live art and music concerts.
After 20 years, the theatre had outgrown its cramped and inaccessible home, so with investment from the University of Wolverhampton and a grant from the National Lottery, an ambitious £2 million refurbishment began. Architects Marsh and Grochoski made use of the space available and the old gym was transformed into the Tilstone Studio.
Current status
After 18 months of building work, the Arena Theatre re-opened in October 1999. With greatly improved facilities and access, the theatre was able to expand its programme of performances and the Arena Theatre now host in excess of 200 public performances per year – in addition to a host of other special events.
{{coord, 52, 35, 14.2, N, 2, 7, 38.1, W, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title
Buildings and structures in WolverhamptonTheatres in StaffordshireTheatres in the West Midlands (county)University of Wolverhampton