Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street.

Venue: Nottingham Playhouse
Address: Wellington Circus, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Town: Nottingham, GB

Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop. The current building opened in 1963. The architect of the current theatre, constructed as an example of Modern architecture, was Peter Moro who had worked on the interior design of the Royal Festival Hall in London When the theatre was completed, it was controversial as it faces Nottingham Cathedral, designed in Gothic Revival style by Augustus Pugin. However, the buildings received a Civic Trust Award in 1965. Despite the modern external appearance and the circular auditorium walls, the theatre has a proscenium layout, seating an audience of 770. During the 1980s, when the concrete interiors were out of fashion, the Playhouse suffered from insensitive "refurbishment" that sought to hide its character. Since 1996, it has been a Grade II* listed building and in 2004, the theatre was sympathetically restored and refurbished with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Sky Mirror sculpture by Anish Kapoor was installed between the theatre and the adjacent green space of Wellington Circus in 2001 at a cost of £1.25m (equivalent to £2,350,000 in 2025). In 2007 it won the Nottingham Pride of Place award in a public vote to determine the city's favourite landmark. In 2014-15, Nottingham Playhouse underwent a complete environmental upgrade including insulation of the fly tower, secondary and double glazing and installing PV panels. The works were jointly funded by Arts Council England, Nottingham City Council, patron donations and philanthropist Sir Harry Djanogly. The award-winning works have been calculated to cut annual energy usage by over 35%. In 2019, Nottingham Playhouse was named The Stage Regional Theatre of the Year. and in 2023 named UK Theatre's Most Welcoming Theatre for its access work. The new theatre's artistic direction