When UK Theatre announced its three finalists for the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award including Hall for Cornwall, it represented a remarkable transformation of this wonderful venue. Whether it wins on 20 October 2024 or not, it will confirm that it has established itself has one of the best regional venues in the UK. It is a wonderful accolade for a venue which is 280 miles west of the West End of London and is now attracting top touring shows to one of the most westerly points of Britain.

The City Hall has entertained Truro for over 170 years in amongst its uses as a market, jail, police station, fire station, court and ice-skating rink but after a major refurbishment in the mid-1990s, the former market hall at the rear of the complex re-opened as Hall for Cornwall on 15 November 1997. It had previously staged performances in the building which was known as the Regent Theatre, Regent Cinema, and the City Hall. It is now a Grade II* listed building.

A major £29m programme of refurbishment works, designed by Burrell Foley Fischer, began in June 2018. The project involved a completely new auditorium now known as The Cornwall Playhouse, located in the centre of the complex, increasing the capacity of the venue from 965 seats to 1,352 seats which opened in October 2021 with Fisherman’s Friends – The Musical, a co-production by ROYO and Cornwall Playhouse Productions, which subsequently went on to tour the UK and North America.

The old arena style auditorium was stripped out and a new steel and timber frame across three levels, digging down for the stalls and popping up a roof extension. A flexible proscenium and variable acoustic banners were installed supporting a range of performance from orchestral to stand-up comedy. Gentle ramps across the site, combined with lifts, have provided universal access into the theatre, and comfortable seating installed, including thirteen wheelchair spaces with a variety of positions within the auditorium. A casual café restaurant has been opened in the Back Quay building which is open throughout the day while the stunning new Playhouse Bar sits on the other side of the building, complete with an ancient market stone on show and the kind of grand entrance befitting a City Hall.

CEO and Creative Director, Julien Boast described the transformation as "something we are spectacularly proud of. The Cornwall Playhouse has been sensitively designed as a space for the community of our region. So many of the 600,000 visitors we’ve had through the doors have given it a resounding thumbs up, returning with the kind of regularity and loyalty we only dreamed of during the development. Just as importantly, visiting companies love the space, often describing Hall for Cornwall as the highlight of the tour thanks to the exceptional facilities and a hearty Cornish welcome from a team who go above and beyond. Taken together, Cornwall now has its rightful place on the touring circuit and a space in which Cornish talent can flourish.”

The change from a community venue into a key part of the regional touring network is wonderful. The current programming includes touring productions of 20th anniversary production of The History Boys, Nottingham Playhouse’s production of Dear Evan Hansen , Fiery Angel production’s of Murder on the Orient Express, Hairspray with Joanne Clifton, Bill Kenwright’s evergreen tale of Blood Brothers, the award winning & Juliet, sexy musical Chicago, and Johannes Radebe in Kinky Boots, as well as usual mix of comics and music one nighters .

Of course, pantomime is now established as a regular Christmas treat too. This December, Edward “Kernow King” Rowe returns as Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk in a Cornwall Playhouse Production, in association with Falmouth University. The partnership with Falmouth University is designed to drive the Cornish economy through the promotion of creative industries and cultural sector.

As in previous years, they will add some real Cornish heritage to the traditional genre and story, with a dash of Cornish giant legends which will give the show a unique local flavour. Rowe was nominated for best leading man in the 2018 Great British Pantomime Awards for his role in Sleeping Beauty and has continued to entertain the local audiences ever since. It is his sixth appearance in a Hall for Cornwall Christmas show. In the 2022/23 Christmas production of Treasure Island, some audience call-and -responses were in the Cornish language.

Producer Helen Tiplady said about this Christmas tradition: “It might sound corny, but this is our favourite time of the year, when more than 35,000 local people throng the Cornwall Playhouse for a show, they know will be steeped in proper Cornish heritage, humour and feel good fun. More than that, we ensure the cast and crew is a diverse mix of local and national talent, so Cornwall is always represented, but the national pedigree is really high too.”

The rebuilding of the auditorium has also enabled the venue to adopt some effective green strategies to reduce its carbon footprint including water-saving WCs and a sophisticated heating and ventilation system, which has seen huge energy savings: no mean feat in a Grade II* listed granite building.

In the year to 31 March 2023, the Hall for Cornwall limited company, the first full year for the charity after the reopening, The Playhouse welcomed over 250,000 visitors. Its turnover was an impressive £7million with £4.8m from ticket and programme sales, £383k from the Arts Council of England as a NPO, and £715k from its trading subsidiary including the bar, café and event hires.

It operates a wide range of programmes and events for young people, badged under the new Get Creative brand, engaging more than 11,000 Cornwall based young people and 300 artists annually, including HfC Youth Theatre and Youth Dance , the secondary drama showcase in which eleven schools performed, the RSC Associate schools and Partnership Programmes, Toddler Time, as well as ArtsMark and technical qualification programmes.

Simon Callow CBE, who is an HfC Cultural Ambassador, commented: "In its newly reimagined persona, Hall for Cornwall has not only become a thing of aesthetic beauty, but a space which miraculously incorporates its former selves. It represents a powerful dynamic - surging with energy and power and rooted deep deep in the soil. I can hardly wait to come back.”

The Hall for Cornwall and its brand-new Playhouse is a shining example of how old, listed buildings can be reinvigorated for the 21st Century to serve the local community, enhance and protect the local cultural heritage and attract producers to tour their shows to entertain the local audiences. By having a modern, fit for purpose building, it turns the 260-mile distance from London into an advantage by bringing the top musicals and dramas to its audiences who might not otherwise get to experience the magic of these productions live. Whether you are holidaying in Cornwall or live in the area, this a venue now firmly on the must visit list.

Nick Wayne

Nick has been involved in Producer and Venue Organisations for twenty-five years, seen over 1200 productions, visited over 160 of the UK Venues and invested in over 30 West End Productions