Wickham Theatre

The Wickham Theatre is a studio theatre in Bristol owned by the University of Bristol. It was renamed in 1968 after Professor Glynne Wickham, founder of the university’s drama department. Before that it was called the Vandyck Theatre. The space supports teaching, research and live performance. It hosts visiting artists and companies pushing boundaries in contemporary theatre. Students at all levels take part in performances exploring different theatrical traditions. Research projects at the theatre often combine teaching with practical work. One project reconstructed a 17th-century Jacobean indoor playhouse from Inigo Jones’s original drawings. Designed by Martin White and Jennie Norman, it uses candlelight for ongoing research, public shows and lectures. Students studying early modern drama use the reconstruction for seminars and their own creative work. Another project, led by Professor Baz Kershaw and artist Sandra Reeve, staged a nine-hour performance called Green Shade. It turned the theatre back to its original brick walls to create an environmental installation inspired by the Eden Project. The theatre’s programme also includes regular public performances and lectures. Its research spans theatre history, ecology and future scenarios. The building itself began life as a printing workshop. Today it remains a working studio where students and artists collaborate across disciplines. The Wickham Theatre links past, present and future through performance and study.