West End’s Arts Theatre to move into site for up to two years while its current base undergoes long-delayed refurbishment
Architect Reed Watts has submitted plans for a 500-seat temporary auditorium for the West End’s Arts Theatre on the central London site which was previously occupied by the Marble Arch Mound.
The London practice has drawn up the scheme for theatre producer HH Productions Limited with a full planning application filed with Westminster council last month.
The venue would be the latest temporary structure erected on a vacant grassy plot next to the grade I-listed Marble Arch which marks the entrance from Oxford Street to Hyde Park.
The last structure on the site was MVRDV’s controversial Marble Arch Mound, a 25m-tall viewing platform designed to look like an artificial hill covered in trees which made international headlines when it opened in 2021 due to its botched delivery.
A backlash against the £6m visitor attraction’s famously patchy appearance led to the resignation of Westminster council’s deputy leader, while MVRDV publicly disowned the project after describing its execution as “loveless”.
The latest use of the site will provide a temporary home for up to two years for the Arts Theatre, a historic venue located at 6-7 Great Newport Street which is due to undergo refurbishment.
Founded in 1927, the Arts Theatre is known for its heritage of producing experimental and alternative plays including Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot which premiered at the venue in 1955.
A refurbishment of the theatre’s current site near Leicester Square has been in the works for more than a decade, with initial designs by Sheppard Robson approved by Westminster council in 2016 before the architect was replaced by Ian Chalk Architects with new plans submitted in 2018.
The second scheme was also scrapped with Ian Chalk swapped out for Soda Studio under a redesign consisting of a two-storey roof extension which was submitted in April last year and is yet to receive a planning committee date.
Reed Watts’ plans for the meanwhile venue would have the same capacity of the existing Arts Theatre, with a stage also of comparable size, along with dressing rooms, storage, offices and a bar and welcome area.
The lightweight, rectangular building would be constructed from a modular aluminium frame. It would have a footprint of 37m by 26m with a total height of 10m, aiming to be subservient to the Marble Arch and other listed buildings in the vicinity.
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