Connaught Theatre

The Connaught Theatre stands in the centre of Worthing, West Sussex. It began in 1914 as the Picturedrome cinema on the site of Stanmore Lodge. In 1935 the Worthing Repertory Company moved next door and turned the building into a theatre. The façade was extended in an Art Deco style and the first production opened on 30 September 1935. The theatre seats 512 and has two screens for film and live shows. It is one of the few British theatres created from a former cinema rather than the other way round. The Connaught has hosted touring West End productions and repertory seasons since 1932. Notable actors who started here include Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Ian Holm. During the Second World War it was managed by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation and later by Worthing Borough Council. In 1967 the council reopened the theatre after a closure, introducing opera for the first time in over a century. The auditorium was enlarged to 512 seats in 1972 and film projection added in 1987. Inside, the theatre has a licensed bar, cloakroom and disabled facilities. The entrance foyer on Union Place was rebuilt in Moderne style with two rendered storeys. A first-floor cocktail bar and lounge were added in 1933. The building sits next to the former Ritz cinema, now the Connaught Studio, which once hosted a short-lived film festival.