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Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, it presents a series of locally produced and national touring productions, including opera, ballet and pantomime. The theatre has two performance venues, the main auditorium and the smaller Mill Studio.[1]

Address

Millmead, Guildford, Surrey

Theatre

586

October 1962

11 November 1964

2 June 1965 (1965-06-02)

£335,000

Marshall-Andrew & Co

11 October 2012

The stage[edit]

The theatre was designed to be as adaptable as possible to allow for the staging of every kind of performance. There is no proscenium arch allowing the full width of the stage to be utilised if wanted. The stage itself is 95 ft (29 m) from wing to wing and 33 ft (10 m) deep. it has a fly tower and a permanent curved cyclorama that is 60 ft (18 m) wide. The stage has a 25 ft (7.6 m) diameter revolve. A removable apron stage section allows for an orchestra pit for 22 musicians or an extra two rows of seats as required. When built the maximum seating capacity was 574.[3] Since then it has been increased to 586.[6]

Opening festival[edit]

The theatre was opened on 2 June 1965 with Dirk Bogarde speaking a prologue written for the occasion. The first play was A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev with Ingrid Bergman in the leading role. It was followed by Milton's Samson Agonistes and Dibdin's Lionel and Clarissa. The festival programme was devised by Michael Redgrave.[3]

Official website