The Curve, Leicester City
- Source: www.curveonline.co.uk
Project description
Opened in November 2008, The Curve in Leicester is a state of the art theatre that forms the focal point of a new ‘Cultural Quarter’, planned by Leicester City Council. The development is situated within the St. Georges Conservation Area of the Leicester city centre and is designed to interact with the streetscape that surrounds it by exposing aspects of theatre production to the public at street level.
Aims and objectives
- To create a performance arts centre of international standard that creates new opportunities for performance and creativity through an innovative re-conception of the visibility of and interaction between the theatre’s front/back of house, and internal/ external spaces.
- To provide an anchor for the redevelopment of the St. George’s Conservation Area in Leicester and to act as the heart of the new Cultural Quarter.
- To create a new civic space within and outside the theatre foyer that’s use is not only limited to performance times or theatre users and may therefore help to expose cultural activities to a wider audience.
Services offered
- Performances of theatre, dance, music and comedy on two stages that are designed to be adapted to diverse arrangements.
- A new civic space for downtown Leicester incorporating a restaurant, bar and café that draw people into the space to encounter the ‘made visible’ activity of the theatre.
- Inspires and involves passers-by on street level as a result of its inside-out design.
Benefits of co-location
Leicester City Council, together with a number of partners, is working on a range of complementary cultural initiatives, of which The Curve is a focal point.
This co-location approach forms a vision of regenerating the St Georges area as a Cultural Quarter that will stimulate economic growth whilst establishing Leicester as the major regional centre for the creative industries.
The project will involve the redevelopment of a number of sites within St George’s, the creation of new public open space and improvements to access to and through the area.
Success factors
- The project was able to secure a large amount of funding from a number of different organisations.
- The integration of the project within a wider Cultural Quarter will be important to the buildings success, allowing it to become a focal point within the city.
- The regeneration vision of an attractive surrounding environment for the creative business sector to locate will help the projects long term success by ensuring it is located within an a thriving part of the city.
Risk factors
- This was an expensive project that came in at £61 million, twice the initial budget proposal.
- In spite of a generally successful history its predecessor the Haymarket Theatre was forced to close between 2003 and 2004 due to financial problems.
Business/operational model
- The Curve is being run by the Leicester Theatre Trust (LTT), an independent charitable organization who was responsible for running Leicester’s former premier performance centre the Haymarket Theatre from 1973 to 2007 (when it closed down).
- The Leicester Theatre Trust was formed in 1969. The trust receives regular funding from the Arts Council England (ACE) and receives annual revenue funding from Leicester City Council.
- Leicester Theatre Trust is revenue funded by Leicester City Council, Arts Council England and Leicestershire County Council.
Financing and delivery/procurement
The Curve is the second of the three capital projects to be completed in the cultural quarter. It was commissioned and developed by Leicester City Council. The project is a partnership between the City Council, East Midlands Development Agency, Arts Council England, Leicester Shire Economic Partnership, the European Regional Development Fund, Leicester Theatre Trust and Leicester Arts Centre Trust.
