The Nottingham New Theatre
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Our history

How theatre at the University of Nottingham became the New Theatre, and where to find the full record.

Students at the University of Nottingham have been making theatre for a century. This page is the short version; the Nottingham New Theatre History Project is the long one.

Where it began

Theatre at the university goes back to the 1920s and Dramsoc, the university's dramatic society.

The building

The New Theatre's own building on University Park was converted from the old engineering block and opened in the 1960s. The raked seating and the proscenium arch followed in the 1970s, studio spaces were added in 2013, and the Creatives season began in 2017.

The building has been closed since 2023, and we currently perform in the Portland Studio. The campaign to save the building is at savennt.com.

The history project

The history project keeps the record of our shows, the people who made them and the committees who ran the theatre, and it is built by our alumni. If you have programmes, photographs or memories to add, write to history@newtheatre.org.uk.