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Admin History:

The New Theatre which stands on Kingston Square, Hull, opened on the 16th of October 1939 with the Hull Repertory Company production of 'Me and My Girl'.

Peppino Santangelo came to the city in 1933 to join the Hull Repertory Company based at the Little Theatre in Kingston Square. After turning the struggling company around, Peppino, organised the reconstruction of the former Assembly Rooms which had first been built by R. H. Sharp over 100 years earlier in 1834 into the New Theatre. Not even the outbreak of the Second World War could halt Peppino’s dream and as the theatre’s first manager, he told crowds of 1939: ‘I have made plans for your future entertainment, always bearing in mind that we are at war and that laughter and not tears should be the dominant feature.’

Performances continued throughout the war when West End productions arrived to escape the bombing in London. The theatre bar was reinforced as a bomb shelter and the building received only one direct hit, in May 1941, which destroyed the front row of stalls and all the props and costumes of the visiting Sadler’s Wells Opera Company.

In the late 1960s the Theatre's stage was deepened and the orchestra pit enlarged, whilst at the same time the auditorium was improved with new seating.

The theatre closed in January 2016 to undergo a huge £15.9m revamp of the venue, which would see improvements to backstage areas including a new fly tower, used for scenery, lighting and stage effects, a larger stage, and more seating. The theatre reopened on 16 Sep 2017.

Description:

Theatre programmes and play bills