From the Room to the Round

‘One of the old ladies said to me, “When you build a new theatre, Mr Walters, I will still be trodden on by the actors, won’t I?” And I said, "oh, yes, don’t worry…"’ ​

(Sam Walters, Founder and Former Artistic Director)

It became quickly apparent that larger and more accessible premises were required to accommodate the theatre's regularly over-subscribed shows. A mid-Victorian building on Clarence Street, over the road from the Orange Tree Pub, became available when the primary school it housed was closed down in 1974. However, it was not until 1987 that permission to convert the old school into a new Orange Tree Theatre was granted.

Theatre Projects, a specialist architectural firm led by Iain Mackintosh, was appointed. To maintain the intimacy of The Room, the design brief insisted on an unusually small stage in the round with seating at stage level. It was agreed to retain the old school's Victorian facade, with the new theatre, box office, bar and dressing rooms contained within.

‘Everyone believed the theatre belonged to them, to the people of Richmond’ ​

(Sir Richard and Lady Sheila Attenborough, quoted in a brochure for the appeal)

‘Let the performers be surrounded, not secure on a raised platform.
Let the audience be aware of one another’​

(Sam Walters, Founder and Former Artistic Director)

On the 14^th February 1991, almost twenty years after the first lunchtime performance, the new Orange Tree Theatre was opened to rave reviews with a production of Arthur Murphy’s ‘All in the Wrong.’

The move formally established the Orange Tree as a theatre in the round – a type of performance space in which the audience surrounds the stage. Described as the oldest form of storytelling, theatre in the round provides a shared space where the audience are embraced as participants: