The New Year marks new beginnings for Shakespeare's Globe which opens the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a 350 seat indoor candlelit theatre named after its founder, on 9th January. Opening in the year of Shakespeare's 450th birthday, the £7.5 million theatre launches with The Duchess of Malfi with Gemma Arterton in the title role, and a programme of Jacobean plays, opera, candlelit concerts and anarchic comedy follows.
The Globe is not the only London theatre getting a spruce up in 2014, also in January work will be completed on Donmar Dryden Street, a new space for the Donmar Warehouse that will bring all of the Covent Garden theatre's off-stage work under one roof for the first time. It will offer a double height rehearsal room, new education room and a rooftop extension to house a flat for visiting artists.
The Bloomsbury Theatre is undergoing a summer renovation, closing from 14th July until October 2014 when new facilities including a refurbished foyer and theatre, an additional bar, improved toilets and seating will be revealed. Access from the Gordon Street side of the building will also be improved.
Hampstead Theatre, currently enjoying a highly successful period under artistic director Edward Hall, including the West End transfer of Sunny Afternoon, will be closed to the public after the final performance of Wonderland on 26th July until September 2014 to allow for the bar and box office to be relocated, creating more spacious and relaxed public areas.
On 30th September 2014 the National Theatre's renovated Cottesloe theatre will be renamed and reopen as the Dorfman theatre, named after Travelex founder Lloyd Dorfman whose £10 million donation helped to renovate the space. The improvements, including increased capacity and better sight lines, mean an extra 27,000 people each year can gain access to what are often sold-out performances, and the auditorium can be used for learning activities during the day when it would usually be empty.
Also due to be complete by the end of the year, the Lyric Hammersmith's refurbishment project will give the building its first major facelift in 30 years, adding a two storey extension, drama, dance and recording studios, a screening room, digital playspace, and a sensory space for children.