Curve (theatre)


Curve is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Before being named Curve, it was referred to as Leicester Performing Arts Centre. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena conference and banqueting centre.

Overview

Curve was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly in association with the scenographers ducks scéno and Charcoal Blue, Kahle Acoustics for acoustician studies and engineered by Adams Kara Taylor is based in the centre of what the City Council calls the new "Cultural Quarter" on Rutland Street. It features two auditoria, one with 970 seats while a 350-seat auditorium provides a smaller space with its own power flying system. The Theatre, Studio and their stages can also be opened up to create one large space with a capacity of 1,300. When the 2 18 tonne steel walls separating the stage and the foyer are lifted, the stage is visible from street level. The glass façade encloses an open plan foyer with views onto the café, bars, backstage area, and across the stage.
The theatre was built by a partnership of Leicester City Council, Arts Council England, East Midlands Development Agency, Leicester Shire Economic Partnership, with the project part-financed by the European Union, in partnership with Leicester Theatre Trust and in association with Phoenix Arts Centre. The project was blighted by huge cost increases that more than doubled the initial estimates.
The theatre opened on 11 November 2008 with a celebratory opening show called Lift Off. This was followed by Simply Cinderella, which ran from 4 December 2008 until 24 January 2009 – a new musical of the fairytale, written by Grant Olding and Toby Davies, and directed by dancer Adam Cooper.

Selected productions

• Les Miserables
• War Horse
• The Phantom of the Opera

Leicester Theatre Trust

Curve is run by the Leicester Theatre Trust, an independent charitable organisation. LTT took over the operation of Curve in August 2008. The Leicester Theatre Trust formed in 1969, it is a regularly funded client of Arts Council England and receives annual revenue funding from Leicester City Council.
From 1973 to 2007 the organisation programmed and operated the Haymarket Theatre.