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     London Theatre Tickets » List of London Theatres » Barbican Theatre » History
Barbican Theatre - Information & History
The Barbican Theatre is, as its name suggests, in the Barbican area of London and it's the most recent Theatre to be built - during the 70's, opening in 1982. The Barbican Theatre complex is Europe's largest multi-arts and combined conference venue, providing constant year round performances of art, music, film and theatre.
The Barbican Centre includes 2 theatres, a concert hall, 3 cinemas, 2 art galleries, a public library, 3 restaurants, private functions rooms, conference suites, 2 exhibition halls, a conservatory and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Originally designed in 1960 by the architects Chamberlain, Powell & Bon, the Barbican Centre was constructed during the 70's and was finally opened on the 3rd of March 1982 by Her Majesty The Queen. Owned, funded and managed by the Corporation of London, the Barbican was built as 'the City of London's gift to the nation' at a capital cost of £161 million, equivalent to almost £400 million today.
The area known as the Barbican where the complex now occupies was devastated by German bombing by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Most of the area was virtually flattened and laid to waste, and the site where the Barbican now stands remained a wasteland until 1959 when finally a planning submission by the Corporation of London was approved. This was for mixed development of housing and an Arts centre, to include a concert hall and theatre as well as a school for music and drama. This was finally approved and construction started during the mid sixties.
The Royal Shakespeare Company became involved in designing the Barbican theatre and eventually became the first occupants. The Barbican theatre auditorium offers a seating capacity of 1168, consisting of sloping stalls and 3 narrow tiers which jut out above each other, which means that no seat is more than 65 feet away from the stage.
The Barbican Centre is mostly constructed underground, making the complex and very interesting building. In fact, the only part of the Barbican centre which is visible is the fly tower and the conservatory.
The Guildhall School of Music & Drama is situated alongside the arts centre, which is another interesting building, with a honeycomb structure providing air space between each practice room for sound proofing. The theatre has completely mobile seating to enable the stage to be any size or in any position, which is truly unique for any theatre. Visitors are able to watch student performances and programmes are available every term from the school.
The Barbican offers a wide choice of eating experiences and drinking choices at the Barbican's numerous restaurants and bars with something to please every taste and pocket. With a Bistro and cafes as well as an award winning restaurant 'Searcy's', the Barbican offers the theatre goer everything under one building complex.
The Barbican is a huge cultural complex offering a wide choice of facilities and must be visited to truly appreciate its value to the community. In May 2002 the Royal Shakespeare Company finally left the Barbican and the Barbican now offers seasons of international theatrical productions which occasionally include short season's performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Barbican Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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