Venue: Rhoda McGaw Theatre
Town: Woking, GB

The Rhoda McGaw Theatre is part of the entertainment complex adjacent to the Peacock Centre in Woking, Surrey. The theatre seats 228 in 9 rows of raked seating and has been reported to have excellent acoustics. The stage is flat, 58’ wide from wall to wall, with a 36’ curtain opening. From the main tabs it is 19’ back to the cyclorama and 8’ forward to the front of the stage. The theatre has also been used by the Woking Drama Association ("WDA") to host the Woking Drama Festival and the British All Winners Festival on those occasions when it has been invited to do so by the National Drama Festivals Association. The venue has a unique relationship with the local council, whereby Woking Council owns and subsidises the theatre, with all the administration, staffing and technical facilities run by the Ambassador Theatre Group. Known to most simply as the Rhoda, construction work on the theatre was started in 1973 as part of the larger Woking Centre Halls complex; the cultural part of the redevelopment of Woking town centre at the time. The Centre Halls also included a Concert Hall for large functions, a library, a pool, and dining facilities (where prices ranged from £2.40 to £3.80 per head for a four course meal). Work was completed on the complex in 1975 and the theatre was officially opened to the public under the management of Mike Kelly. A brochure produced when the Centre Halls first opened describes the Rhoda as an ‘intimately styled theatre’ with ‘well tiered and comfortable seating - for theatrical, operatic, concert, film and other similar productions’. Named the Rhoda McGaw Theatre in memory of the local councillor who inspired Woking Council to fund the local dramatic community, the Rhoda has been pivotal in providing a venue for amateur and professional performances for over 40 years. The Rhoda continued to be an important part of the Woking community for the next 13 years, putting on a range of popular shows including musicals, opera, dance, ballet, talent