Connaught Theatre

Two buildings now jointly operated by Worthing Theatres (part of Worthing Borough Council) as Connaught Theatre and Connaught Cinema and Studio. The Connaught Theatre was built as the Picturedrome in 1914 on the site of Stanmore Lodge, which had been acquired by the newly-formed Picturedrome (Worthing) Ltd. Seating capacity was 850 in a single tier, with four boxes at rear. The main entrance from Chapel Road had a canopy crowned with a dome and led to a crush lobby, whilst that from Union Street led directly into the auditorium. Plans show a steel frame-work and an elegant rounded auditorium, richly panelled, with an octagonal ceiling feature. In 1933, a new stage and proscenium were constructed, together with dressing rooms and a scene dock, by taking in land at the rear; at the same time the interior was modernised and most of the original plasterwork obscured. Two years later the Union Place front was rebuilt in Moderne style, two rendered storeys, parapeted, in three bays; the centre bay slightly taller and slightly advanced with the name of the theatre in relief sans serif letters; curved end bay set back to the right. Strip windows continue round the corners; entrance canopy projects from storey band at first floor level. Until c.1990 the safety curtain was that of 1895 from the Theatre Royal (demolished), brought to the venue by Seebold, who had acquired the theatre in 1904 and was responsible for much of the town’s entertainment history.
The Ritz (also known at various times as the Ritz Ballroom and, briefly, as Vaudeville and Garrison Theatre) was built in 1916 by Connaught Buildings Syndicate Ltd, and opened as the Connaught Hall, above a newly-built parade of shops in Chapel Road. An entrance between the shops then served the Picturedrome. The exterior was neo-Georgian in style; the auditorium was built for dances and concerts, and is typical of an early cinema with elegant plaster mouldings of fruit and roses, surrounds with cross-ribbon detail, heavy shields on the walls and a rounded proscenium.
The Hall became a repertory theatre, and proved so popular that the repertory had to be moved next door to the larger theatre. During the war it was used by the Home Guard, and later, after acquisition by the Connaught Theatre, for painting scenery and for private hire.