The first Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opened on April 19, 1879, designed by William Unsworth and Edward Dodgshun in Victorian Gothic, and a fire gutted it on March 6, 1926. Elisabeth Scott designed the replacement, opened in 1932, one of the first important British buildings by a woman architect. It has Art Deco features, and seated about 1,400 on three tiers.
Bennetts Associates led the transformation of 2007 to 2010, with Buro Happold as engineers. The thrust stage seats over 1,040, and the farthest seat moved from 89 feet (27 m) to 49 feet (15 m). A tower is 118 feet (36 m) high. It reopened in November 2010 and was officially opened on March 4, 2011.
It is Grade II* listed. The article gives the cost as 112.8 million pounds in one place and over 100 million in another.
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