The MCT at Alleyn's

Winner of a 2010 RIBA award, the Edward Alleyn Building houses a 350 seat theatre named after Michael Croft, a former Head of English at the Alleyn's School and founder of the National Youth Theatre in 1956. The courtyard-style auditorium can be transformed from a proscenium end stage, to a thrust stage, or into theatre-in-the-round although it is usually set up as a medium-scale proscenium house. There are three levels of fixed seating and moveable seats in the stalls on a shallow rake. A motorised elevator can lower the forestage area to one level to accommodate extra seating or even further to create an orchestra pit. The theatre is designed to be flexible, with excellent acoustic qualities and sightlines to the stage. Acoustic drapes change the sound to fit the performance and there are state-of-the-art projection facilities. A tensioned-wire grid keeps technicians safe as they walk above the audience to adjust spotlights that project clearly through the grid. Hanging and flying scenery can be moved using traditional rope hemp sets from suspension points above the stage. There is a lift to the first and second levels and dedicated wheelchair space in the auditorium. The foyer, a top-lit three-storey atrium space with glazed facades, provides views over the school grounds. The building also houses the NYT Studio for dance and drama workshops.