Barnfield Theatre

The Barnfield Theatre is situated in the centre of Exeter on Barnfield Road in Southernhay. The building is owned by Exeter City Council and leased to The Barnfield Theatre Company Ltd.
Land for the theatre was left to the Exeter Literary Society who built the theatre and lecture hall in 1890, then known as Barnfield Hall, on the site of the Barnfield House gardens. The hall opened in 1891 for the presentation of talks, lectures, magic lantern slides shows, theatre, music and dance displays. In 1896 the entrance area and a second smaller hall was opened as an annex on the east side of the main hall.
Built of red brick, the original building has two storeys. The main elevation has 5 bays, each with a set of two windows at ground floor and a set of arched windows at the first floor. The two end bays have a set of doors at ground level. The central bay has a decorative gabled roof and a small turret sits on the central ridge line. It originally had a glass-covered way along the entire front to protect those waiting to go in from the weather. The annex built in 1896 is single storey, and included a new entry foyer area connecting the two halls.
The hall could seat more than 600. It used limelight for projecting lantern shows, which was considered the latest technology at the time. To accommodate both theatre and dancing in the same space, the floor of the auditorium could be tilted, using screw jacks, and the seating had longer front legs to match the tilt. It is thought that this system was only ever used in one other hall.
The hall was taken over during the war and used as a telephone exchange and emergency post office, and then used by the Civil Defence until 1969.
In 1972 the hall was converted into a larger theatre with a 303 seat raked auditorium, with an extended stage, new control box, dressing rooms, larger entry doors, bar and foyer, reopening as the Barnfield Theatre.
The main auditorium is fully furnished with stage and lighting equipment. It has 289 tip-up seats in a single full rake with complete view of the stage from all parts of the theatre. The front row can be removed and used as a band pit. There is an aisle on either side of the auditorium. The forestage extends 2.9m from the proscenium and is 11.5m wide. The stage behind the proscenium is 6.3m wide and 4.5m deep.
The backstage area consists of 5 changing rooms, a store and workshop, a kitchen area and toilets.
The Clifford Room, the second smaller hall, is situated on the ground floor of the Barnfield Theatre. It is used for many different purposes such as rehearsal space, conference rooms, a studio theatre, functions etc. There is modular seating/staging, which allows for either a raised stage or raked seating for 60. Flat floor seating can accommodate up to 80 audience members and can be arranged for different theatrical requirements.
A bar and cafe situated on the ground floor and the Theatre’s box office were added in 2003.