Buxton Opera House

Buxton Opera House stands in The Square in the Peak District town of Buxton. The 902-seat theatre was built in 1903 to a design by Frank Matcham, the architect behind the London Palladium and London Coliseum. It opened with Mrs Willoughby’s Kiss and soon became a busy touring house. In 1927 it became a cinema, showing silent films until 1932 and then ‘talkies’ until 1976. After years as a cinema it closed in 1976 and was feared lost until a 1979 restoration returned it to live performance. The theatre is worth the journey for its festivals and the artists who have appeared there. Since 1979 it has hosted the Buxton Festival each July, presenting Handel operas and rarities alongside classics. The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival has run there since 1994, drawing audiences from across the UK and abroad. Past performers include Alec Guinness, Ken Dodd, Peter Kay, Sarah Millican, John Bishop, Aled Jones, Leo Sayer and Razorlight. In 2011 a design writer ranked Matcham’s British theatres above many European rivals, calling Buxton Opera House the best of them. Inside, the auditorium seats 902 and the stage has an orchestra pit added in 1979. The complex also includes the 369-seat Pavilion Arts Centre, built in 2010, and the Octagon Hall auditorium from 1875. The arts centre stage can be split into a 93-seat studio theatre. A two-storey restaurant with bar and gift shop sits beside the main building. The theatre runs about 450 performances a year, with a small full-time crew and local volunteers handling front-of-house duties.