The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

by Carmody Groarke 

Client Ambassadors Theatre Group 

Award RIBA London Award 2023 and RIBA National Award 2023 (sponsored by Forterra)

During the height of the Covid pandemic period, the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) decided to totally repurpose the Grade II-listed, Victorian, Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End in order to stage a new, immersive production of the musical Cabaret. Carmody Groarke have created a faux Weimar 1920s ambiance that completely conceals the 1885 building.  Transforming the normal front-door arrival sequence to an underground peregrination that takes audiences through a confined basement and past actors’ changing rooms and a number of bars, the project sets the scene even before the curtain is lifted. 

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.

Contractor GF Holding 

Design Team Lead and Theatre Consultant Charcoalblue

Structural Engineer Atelier One (architecture) and KD Productions (scenic) 

Theatrical Producer Gary Beestone Associates 

Universal Design Consultant Carmody Groarke and Charcaolblue 

Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant Elliot Consulting 

Internal area 2050 m2 (gross)