a university theatre with a difference
Nestled between the River Wear, and Durham Castle and Cathedral on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Assembly Rooms Theatre is an historic 165-seat Victorian proscenium-arch theatre set in the heart of Durham.
Home to all thirty-three of Durham University’s theatre companies, the Theatre keeps a busy programme of plays, musicals, comedy, jazz and more, alongside community events, conferences and more.
The Theatre is open to audience members both from the University community and beyond, and we love to see all the familiar faces return time after time.
For further information on the University’s student theatre programme, and how to participate, please click the link below
Thanks to generous funds from the Gillian Dickinson Trust, the theatre was completely refurbished from 2007-9, including a complete redecoration of the auditorium, the refurbishment of all existing seats, and the inclusion of a modern box office.
In 2019, Durham University, along with patrons and sponsors, raised £2.5M to carry out entirely renovate and modernise the Assembly Rooms. This included the construction of a bar, a lift, and restored the original ornate ceilings. This refurbishment won the City of Durham Trust Architectural Award in 2020.
In 2024, the Theatre was renamed in honour of famous operatic baritone and former Chancellor of Durham University Sir Thomas Allen. Sir Tom was born and grew up in Seaham, just down the road from the Theatre on the coast of County Durham, and the story of his early career is said to have been an inspiration for Billy Elliott.
Whether in the original wood panelling, Victorian fly tower, or the lovingly restored art deco ceiling, you can still see the traces of this great history in the architecture and design of the Theatre. In 1909, the Assembly Rooms picture house was described as “warm and cosy”, and we hope we still bring some of that rich history of welcoming Durham patrons to an evening of comfort and entertainment to the present day.
Our Story
The Assembly Rooms Theatre is a historic 175-seat proscenium arch theatre in the heart of Durham City. Previously used as ballroom, it has undergone extensive redevelopment and is home to Durham Student Theatre as well as associate local artists. We host numerous touring productions as part of Venues North, as well as programming shows by our associate artists.
Records pertaining to an assembly room on this site date back to the early medieval period, and a structure on this site existed as the central meeting point for Durham City until the Town Hall was built on the Market Place in 1356. The current structure is at least three hundred years old and has been used for many purposes.
Records in the eighteenth century show the building being used as a ballroom and was redeveloped as a theatre in 1869, after Durham’s Theatre Royal (roughly where ZiZi’s is now) burnt down in a fire. It hosted its first performance in 1891 with a production of Il Travatore, and was subsequently used by Durham Amateur Operatic Group in the early twentieth century from its first production of H.M.S Pinafore in 1908.
In 1903, the theatre hosted a showing of W. S. Porter’s film, ‘The Great Train Robbery’, which is believed to have been the first film shown in Durham, and the building was converted wholly into a picture house in 1909. In 1930, Durham University acquired the theatre, and it underwent further renovation in the 1950s in order to host theatrical performances once again.
