The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse

The building which has survived as The Playhouse was built by Cecil Hepworth, Head of Hepworth Film Studios, as the powerhouse for the film studios, which was one of the first indoor studios and one of the first to use artificial light. When the studios closed in 1924, the equipment was sold. The building was bought by George Carvill, the architect who had designed the building and an enthusiast of amateur theatre.

He designed a raked stage, wings, dressing rooms, orchestra pit, lounge and bar so that Walton would have a local theatre. Today it is used as a community theatre allowing the auditorium hall use for ballet etc. The building is quite low, with no balcony, the lounge and bar accommodation being upstairs. There is one elegant long window at the front, set in white painted brickwork. Inside, the minimal foyer with small round box office leads into the auditorium where the brickwork is painted dark red, with some gold designs, including the comedy and tragedy muses over the plain proscenium.

In 1991 the building was under threat of demolition, but such was the public outcry that the Elmbridge Arts Council relented, and its use continued.

In 2022, Elmbridge Borough Council, the owners of the Playhouse, proposed to close the theatre. After a resounding protest from many thousands of local residents and others, a Charitable Trust was formed to take over the management of the theatre from April 2023, after agreeing on a 15-year lease from the council.