Curve, also known as Curve Theatre, is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Previously, it had been called Leicester Performing Arts Centre.

Venue: Curve
Town: Leicester, GB

Curve, also known as Curve Theatre, is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Previously, it had been called Leicester Performing Arts Centre. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena conference and banqueting centre. Curve Theatre was designed by the architect Rafael Viñoly in association with the scenographers ducks scéno and Charcoalblue and the acousticians Kahle Acoustics; Adams Kara Taylor engineered the structure for the project whilst the Mechaical and Electrical design, including environmental controlof the theatre and foyer, and cabling distribution for theatre equipment and lighting, were by Arup. Curve stands in the centre of what the City Council calls the new "Cultural Quarter" on Rutland Street. It features two auditoria, one with 970 seats (referred to as the Theatre) while a 350-seat auditorium (referred to as the Studio) 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 (with funds from The National Lottery), East Midlands Development Agency, Leicester Shire Economic Partnership, with the project part-financed by the European Union (ERDF), in partnership with Leicester Theatre Trust and in association with Phoenix Arts Centre. The project, which was undertaken by Lendlease, 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 (the day it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II) un