The Waterside Theatre was an independent theatre/arts venue in Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England.

History

The theatre has been part of the town for many years, once housing the town's first cinema. The building was also home to a visitor attraction, The World of Shakespeare. After the closure of The World of Shakespeare, the Waterside Theatre lay empty for approximately ten years before re-opening in December 2004.

The theatre then hosted Shakespearience, a visitor attraction aimed to both celebrate and introduce newcomers to the world and the works of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. Both were closed in September 2008.

Theatre

The theatre building is styled like an Elizabethan-style playhouse, authentically-timbered similar to The Globe Theatre in London.

Famous faces to have graced the stage in the past include: Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...

, Robin Ince

Robin Ince

Robin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...

, King Pleasure

King Pleasure

King Pleasure was a jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo....

 and The Biscuit Boys, Alistair McGowan

Alistair McGowan

Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...

, Simon Callow

Simon Callow

Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...

 and ex-Radio 1 DJ Normski

Normski

Normski is a British rapper, DJ, photographer and businessman, perhaps best known for his work as a BBC television presenter.-Career:...

.