The Park Theatre is the brainchild of Jez Bond, the Artistic Director who in 2009 discovered a disused office and realising its potential, engaged David Hughes Architects to research what ingredients made for the perfect theatre space. The Park Theatre complex occupies five floors which are all accessible by stairs and lifts and boasts two auditoriums that incorporate a 200-seat theatre (Park200), and (Park90), a smaller, intimate, and flexible 90-seat area.
The Ground floor features a high ceilinged café and bar space with a modern design that exposes the original architecture. Lighting features spell out words in ‘showbiz’ style light bulbs around the building for effect.
The Park Theatre is dog friendly, so do not be surprised by the presence of people’s pets during your visit.
Park200
The stalls section in Park200 sits on the lower ground level and has head-on views of the stage, with the circle level on the upper ground slightly above the stage that offers elevated views of the action.
The theatre is usually laid out in a thrust configuration with the stage sticking out towards the seating area. For some productions, there may be some extra seating to create an ‘in-the-round’ configuration.
The theatre has a capacity of up to 200 people with the stalls containing banks of bench seating with the left and right sections by the stage featuring 3 benches of 9-13 seats. The central block consists of 5 rows of 10-20 seats with the rows of benches raked to offer clear views of the stage so the back row of each seating bank sits on the same level as the entrance. The benches towards the back of the stalls are slightly longer, and in the front row, the stage sits directly in front of you at knee level.
Park90
The Park90 theatre space has a single entrance and is a flexible area, so the layout of the auditorium you enter depends upon the production. The room is cube-shaped and has a gantry that runs along two sides of the space at a raised level. Park90 has a capacity of between 75 and 90 people.