Festival Theatre

The Festival Theatre stands in Barnwell, a north-eastern suburb of Cambridge. Built in 1816 outside the town boundary, it was one of several theatres in the area that served Cambridge when permanent venues were banned within five miles. Designed by William Wilkins the younger, it replaced an earlier theatre on Sun Street and formed part of his Norwich Theatre Circuit. The building closed in the 19th century and later became a nonconformist chapel. In 1926 Terence Gray reopened it as the Cambridge Festival Theatre, modernising the interior with electric lighting and a revolving stage. The theatre gained fame as the country’s first permanent indoor space modelled on a Greek open-air theatre. Gray’s productions included Oresteia at the opening in 1926, with choreography by Ninette de Valois. Herbert M. Prentice directed George Bernard Shaw’s Androcles and the Lion there in 1927. Joseph Macleod became director in 1933 and staged avant-garde works, including plays by Ezra Pound and early Chekhov. The theatre closed in 1935 due to financial difficulties but remains a Grade II* listed example of Georgian theatre design. Visitors today find a virtually complete Georgian interior with a three-tiered horseshoe auditorium supported by cast iron columns. The proscenium arch has been widened and a painting of the Royal Arms remains above it. The foyer was created from an enclosed alleyway during Gray’s renovations. Since 1998 the building has served as a Buddhist centre, preserving its theatrical past while offering a quiet space for reflection.