Foster Wilson Size have completed a major restoration of Trafalgar Theatre, a beautiful, grade II listed, art deco theatre located in central London. Work includes the re-instatement of the single 630 seat auditorium and restoration of the decoration in black and silver, with bronze and gold metallic tints. The Balcony front has been beautifully restored and refitted to spectacular effect, along with the grand ceiling and proscenium arch.
Trafalgar Theatre
Alongside the restoration of the auditorium the project has provided for a new look stalls bar, a new spacious foyer and improvements to the finish and quantity of toilets.
Technical facilities have been fully upgraded throughout, with extensive service upgrades that include more powerful and energy efficient ventilation systems.
In 2004 the theatre, previously known as the Whitehall Theatre, was altered to create two performance spaces as Trafalgar Studios. Foster Wilson Size, working with architect John Muir, was responsible for this low-cost conversion, which was conceived as a response to the need for a more open stage style theatre in the West End, capable of acting as a transfer house for productions from single space theatres in the subsidised sector.
In 2020 when The Trafalgar Entertainment Group decided to restore the theatre, to its original single auditorium form, an opportunity was presented to undertake a more thorough and authentic restoration of the decorative scheme than that carried out in the 1980s.
Fortunately the reversible design approach adopted in 2004 meant this could be achieved without major structural alterations. The Steeldeck platforms used to extend the circle tier and raise the stage were removed, the dry lined walls, which formed the smaller studio under the circle were taken down and the original circle fronts were taken out of their storage crate under the stage for reinstatement.
Underneath the shell of the Trafalgar Studios, there was a remarkable art deco building, and through the painstaking restoration work we have completed alongside all the relevant historical partners, we have a beautiful, genuinely unique theatre fit for 21st-century audiences to come and enjoy.
Sir Howard Panter