A new, state of the art, and flexible 602-seat in-the-round theater will be opening this fall in London, UK. Leading West End producer and theater owner, Nica Burns, announced the opening of @sohoplace, the culmination of a 12-year project. The theater is owned by Nica Burns and operated by Nimax Theatres and will open this autumn with the first production to be announced soon. Here’s a video of a rendered fly through of the theater:
The theater is adjacent to the site of the old Astoria theatre which was demolished to build Crossrail. The auditorium sits directly above Crossrail’s new Elizabeth line and the existing Northern and Central lines at Tottenham Court Road station, a major transport hub. In addition, Crossrail’s huge ventilation fans extracting the hot air from the platform below and working full-time 365 days a year are also adjacent to the auditorium. A challenging location to build a new modern theater with state-of-the-art facilities.
“I wanted to create a theater which could add a different dimension to our vibrant West End landscape,” Burns said. “I asked our greatest theater creatives two questions: If we could build a new theater in the heart of the West End, what would you like it to be? What additional facilities would be on your wish list? They dreamt of a flexible auditorium, perfect acoustics, and audience / stage intimacy. An ability to create on-site with the dream of a rehearsal room, a Green Room and a bar all in the same building. So that’s what we built – with a few extras including an outside terrace. The incredible team of engineers pulled off the greatest of structural feats, building over a major underground transport hub – a challenging place to build a theater – achieving perfect acoustics and no vibrations”.
The auditorium has the following key qualities: good acoustics and sightlines with no obscured views; intimate actor/audience relationship with no seat further than six rows from the stage; curved auditorium; and a flexible auditorium that can be transformed into different configurations.
The theater interior was inspired by Burn’s visit to Epidaurus when young. “I was standing on the stage of this great ancient theater at 8 o’clock – show time – as the last rays of a golden sun were coming through the trees and the stars were starting to twinkle in an indigo sky. It was magic. Epidaurus is one of the greatest theaters in the world and the plays of ancient Greece are still part of our theater heritage today. The interior of @sohoplace reflects these colors and when you walk through the theater you walk under crystal star lights, laid out in constellations. When you pass the building, look up to the terrace and you will see the constellations shine.”
Burns continues, “I am incredibly privileged to be working with Derwent London who hand-picked the most outstanding team – all leaders and innovators in their sectors – to deliver this challenging build: Architect Simon Allford, founder of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, London-based international architectural practices. Allford is currently President of RIBA. Arup, a worldwide engineering giant who make the impossible, possible. Laing O’Rourke, global construction company, specializing in delivering the most difficult projects.
Finally, a very big thank you to all at Westminster Council. We have had incredible support from every team member, and we couldn’t have done it without you”. Paul Williams, Chief Executive Derwent London said: “Working alongside world-class architects and engineers, and in collaboration with Crossrail and our partner Nica Burns, we are delighted to have developed this new state-of-the-art theater together with substantial public realm as part of a successful commercial regeneration project above the Elizabeth line.”
Simon Allford, architect said: “@sohoplace is undoubtedly the most complex and delightful project I have ever worked on; the highly engineered architecture and design of a Swiss watch but built on an urban scale.”
