Nottingham New Theatre in crisis

Abandoned and ignored by the University since 2023, the future of Nottingham New Theatre hangs in the balance—and it needs your help.

Water damage and mould in the auditorium.

In June 2023, just like every year before, the New Theatre closed its doors for the summer break. But during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival rehearsals in the summer, we are told that the students using the space were suddenly asked to leave and, later that September, the committee were told to surrender their keys to the building.

To this day, the theatre still stands empty and unused, its future more and more uncertain as each term passes.

So how and why did this happen? It’s a story that might shock you.

But before we get into it, a quick appeal: our chances of saving the theatre depend on the support we can rally. We need your help to spread the word:

1. Please get in touch with as many other NNT alums that you know, send them to savennt.com, and ask them to subscribe

2. …then ask them to do the same! With any luck, we’ll get a chain reaction going

Okay. Let’s get into it.

What happened to the theatre?

Before 2012, NNT was a part of the Archaeology and Classics (ARCS) Building on Cherry Tree Hill. When the university demolished ARCS in 2012, the theatre itself—after much campaigning—was retained and expanded.

Since those works were completed, leaks have appeared in the building, those leaks caused water damage, and, eventually, a significant amount of mould has spread throughout the building, making it unsafe to use.

The theatre was also home to significant fixtures and fittings provided by alumni donations, many of which we understand have been damaged.

Is the university doing anything about it?

In terms of repairs to make the building usable, no.

In a letter from Vice Chancellor Professor Jane Norman, the university estimates the cost to put the building right at a staggering £2M, and has said that “the theatre is not on our prioritised investment list due to more urgent short and medium-term priorities.”

This, they say, is because of their current financial difficulties.

What used to be the costume cupboard, now filled with mould and plaster.

Are productions still happening?

Yes, but in difficult conditions. NNT has temporary use of a cramped former student bar area in the Portland Building—formerly known as “The Venue”—and various forms of support from Lakeside Arts.

This support is obviously welcome, but the bottom line is this: NNT is a shadow of what it used to be, and of what it could be right now.

The creative freedom and organisational autonomy that we were all once afforded is something today’s students—most of whom have never been inside the theatre—have had taken from them.

Even in such difficult conditions, the current NNT committee has done incredible work keeping things going and deserves all the support we can give them.

Who is behind savennt.com?

We’re a loose collection of former New Theatre members who found out about all of this toward the end of 2025. We are:

• Matthew Bannister, broadcaster and former BBC executive (New Theatre 1975-78)

• Phil Geller, Head of Production, Theatre By The Lake (New Theatre 2007-2011)

• Matt Leventhall, Director of Technical Theatre Arts, RADA (New Theatre 2005 – 2009)

• Liz Stevenson, Artistic Director and Joint CEO, Theatre By The Lake (New Theatre 2008 - 2011)

• Nick Stevenson, Producing and Programming Director, Sheffield Theatres (New Theatre 2011 – 2014)

• Will Pimblett, Principal Engineer, Runa (New Theatre 2011 – 2014)

• Will Vickers, Head of Marketing, Calira (New Theatre 2007 – 2011)

What have you been doing?

So far, whatever we can:

• We’ve been meeting over Zoom with current NNT President Charlotte Reay and Secretary Kieran Bell to offer our assistance

• We’ve sent a signed letter to the VC voicing our anger and disappointment that this has been allowed to happen (to which we received a response, quoted above)

• Matthew Bannister and Matt Leventhall are meeting with NNT President Charlotte Reay and Vice Chancellor Professor Jane Norman in person as soon as possible

We’re still figuring out exactly what the shape of any campaign to save the theatre could or should look like.

What can we do to help?

We’re asking for help on two fronts:

1. Please subscribe and spread the word by sharing the link, savennt.com, and encouraging others to subscribe

2. If you can help in any way*, please reply to this email or email us directly at savennt@gmail.com

*Maybe you’re a structural engineer, maybe you’ve built a career on the foundations of what you started at NNT and want to share your story, or maybe you’re a mould expert with two million quid down the back of the sofa. We’re all ears.

What happens next?

We have two priorities:

1. Grow this mailing list as much as possible from the current ~400 to at least 1000+

2. Meet the VC to keep the pressure on and dig into what that “£2M” number really means

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. We know this news is likely a shock to many, but we fully believe that with your help, we can move things in the right direction.

We’ll email again when we have another update to share.

Update (6 March): this post has been edited to clarify the description of building works, mould, and fixtures.

Update (8 March): this post has been further edited to clarify the sequence of events leading up to the closure of the theatre building.