Ritz

The Ritz is marginal for inclusion here, since it was ill-designed for any kind of stage presentations. Its original stage was small (less than 12ft deep) and backstage facilities were minimal. There was no fly tower and no get in. It was designed as a cinema, closed in 1981 and reopened in 1985 as a cinema and concert venue, for which purpose a forestage (approx 16ft deep) was built. In 2004 the front of house was converted to a Wetherspoon’s pub, the auditorium being left disused.

The building occupies a corner site. It is of plain brick with a diamond pattern picked out by projecting bricks. The auditorium has dull, unrelieved walls, curving into an equally plain ceiling. There are shallow alcoves either side of the proscenium.