Jubilee Theatre

The Jubilee Theatre is a grade II listed building in St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. It opened in 1899 and the Victorian theatre began performances on 30 May 1900. A plaque at the main entrance marks the opening date. The building features an Art Nouveau proscenium arch made of Doulton tiles designed by W.J. Neatby. The tiles depict two pre-Raphaelite figures facing east and west. Originally the theatre had a sprung maple dance floor and a full-sized orchestra pit. The theatre was adapted in 1920 to show films by adding a projection room at the rear. Two separate entrances from the main corridor kept male and female hospital patients apart. Men entered through the left door and women through the right. Inside, seating was divided by gender, with men on the left and women on the right. Men could use a door leading to a corridor once known as the Gentlemen’s Smoking Promenade, now a fire escape. Today the theatre hosts four groups: Juniper Productions, a drama group for people with mental health difficulties founded in 1998; First Act Theatre, a youth theatre company operating since 1991; Stepping Out drama group; and Newcastle University Medical School’s Musical Medics Society, which puts on an annual charity show. The theatre has also launched the early careers of actors including Jill Halfpenny, Donna Air, Dale Meeks, Cheryl Tweedy and Michael O’Riordan.