Venue: Kenton Theatre
Address: New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 2BP, England
Town: Henley-on-Thames, GB

The Kenton Theatre is a theatre and Grade II listed building in the town of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The Kenton Theatre was opened on 7 November 1805 by John Jonas and Sampson Penley, with a performance of Thomas Morton's The School of Reform, or How to Rule a Husband, which had been premiered that year in London. Jonas and Penley first toured their theatre group into Henley in 1798, performing at the Broad Gates Inn. In 1805 The following notice was posted to publicise the opening of the theatre: "Messrs Jonas and Penley beg leave most respectfully to inform the Nobility, Gentry and others of Henley, and its vicinity, that they have erected, for their accommodation and amusement, a Theatre, equal (if not superior) in convenience and decorations to any of its size in England. The whole of the theatre is designed, planned and executed, under the direction of Mr Parker, builder of Henley. The painting by Mr Mortram of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane." The site of the Kenton Theatre was bequeathed to a local businessman, Robert Kenton in 1503 by his friend John Andrew. Robert Kenton subsequently left the plot of land on New Street, Henley-on-Thames to the Town Council whereupon it sat empty until a site for the theatre was to be chosen. The theatre opened as The New Theatre, then closed in 1813 following audience decline and financial difficulty. In 1817 the site was converted into a National and Industrial School, and operated as such until 1849 when a purpose built school opened in Henley. The building was used as a dissenting chapel before the site was consecrated as a church when the nearby St Mary's Church closed for refurbishment. By 1852, it was used as a wash house. The building then saw a range of different uses before re-opening as a theatre called St Mary's Hall in 1892. St Mary's Hall closed down in 1903 and the lease reverted to Henley Town Council. In 1904 Henley Town Council decided to change the name of St Mary's Hall to The Kenton Hall, in