Congress Theatre (Eastbourne)

Congress Theatre

Congress Theatre exterior
Address	Carlisle Road Eastbourne England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°45′46″N 0°17′00″E / 50.7628°N 0.2834°E / 50.7628; 0.2834
Owner	Eastbourne Borough Council
Designation	Grade II* Listed Building
Type	Provincial
Capacity	1689
Opened	1963
Website
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk

The Congress Theatre is a Grade II* listed, purpose-built, modern theatre and conference venue in the seaside town of Eastbourne, East Sussex. It is one of the largest theatres in southern England, with seating capacity of 1,689. The theatre was designed in 1958 and built 1961–1963 by Bryan and Norman Westwood Architects. Ove Arup and Partners were engineers.^[1] The theatre underwent major refurbishment in 2019, to reveal a bright and contemporary look, whilst fully maintaining the character of the original design. Shows include touring West End theatre, ballet, opera, comedy and live music.

Extensive acoustic testing took place in 1964 with local schools taking part clapping, shouting and reacting to loud, off-stage bangs. The first performances took place on 22–23 January 1965. The first half of the programme was a classical concert given by The Arriaga String Quartet and the second half was a performance of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde with 14 local schools participating. The soloists were Sheila Rex and Owen Brannigan. Britten himself attended one of the dress rehearsals.^[2]

It was the location for the final recorded concert by the American pianist, composer and band leader Duke Ellington on 1 December 1973. Ellington died five months later in May 1974.

The theatre has a licensed bar, cloakroom facilities, disabled facilities (including an infrared system for the hard of hearing) and public phones (available in the foyer)

• Eastbourne Theatres
• Listed buildings in Eastbourne

• Eastbourne Theatres website

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