Nevill Holt Opera

At the south-eastern corner of the cluster of buildings around Nevill Holt Hall, the long ironstone block, crenellated and pedimented, is quite grand for a stable. For a theatre, on the other hand, it is compact and intimate.

The challenge of this project for us was that few of the conventional configurations of a theatre were possible – but this was also precisely its charm. No fly-tower, no foyer with a grand stair. The plan dimensions were promising, at 16 x 24 metres, and the temporary theatre demonstrated that performers and audience could be shoehorned in. Every addition or adjustment had to be judged on its merits, to work in relation to the ironstone walls, and the doors and windows that pepper them: bending to these constraints gave direction to the many fine judgements that make up a theatre. Therefore, although in no sense experimental, many aspects of the design are quietly unorthodox.

The restrained material palette is brought to life by the daylight from the large central rooflight – as it rakes across the rough stone walls, the light is a reminder that this is still a courtyard, even if it is no longer a stable yard. For performances, a blackout blind darkens the room as the stage lights power on, and the walls and doorways recede into the background. The in-between quality of this stable-theatre, neither fully interior nor exterior, is entirely fitting for the imaginative space of opera.