Little

The Little Theatre was built in 1934-35 by Consuelo De Reyes and her stage-designer husband Peter King. She had run an experimental theatre in Citizen House next door, in Westgate Buildings, and organised summer schools in drama which brought students from all over the world. The flood of visitors was stemmed by the Second World War, and an accidental fire destroyed Citizen House. The present theatre building dates from 1726, and was originally a large town house. The new Little theatre was designed to function also as a cinema. In addition to the main auditorium there was a roof garden theatre, a tea and coffee lounge, and access to dressing rooms in the adjacent building.

Miss De Reyes formed a partnership with Jim Fairfax-Jones of the Everyman Theatre Hampstead, and productions were exchanged for a short time. In 1936 the Little reopened as a cinema. In 1979, the original scene store and lounge were converted into a second screen and thereafter the building was used wholly as a cinema. Ten years later a major refurbishment programme was carried out, and some decorative features of 1930s character were reintroduced. Meanwhile, the roof garden theatre had become a separate office suite.

The freehold of the building is still owned by the family.