‘A London Architect Who Has Specialised'

This chapter begins with a little context before continuing with a close examination of the Nottingham Playhouse and Theatre Royal. When in 1956 the Directors of the Nottingham Theatre Trust were considering alterations to the city's Playhouse, they sought advice from Peter Moro, describing him as 'a London architect who has specialised in matters of this sort'. Traditional approaches to the monument were not only problematic in their historicism but could also have undesirable echoes of totalitarian regimes. The transformation from proscenium-arch to open stage was effected by removing the front rows of stalls seating to create a forestage projecting into the auditorium. The yellow of the Nottingham curtain became at Plymouth the colour of the seats, which were coupled with moss green walls, grey carpet, and English chestnut detailing to the proscenium arch. Otto Salvisberg advocated a holistic Modernism, relating building to setting and demonstrating a feeling for rhythm, mass, structure, colour and detail.