Located in the heart of the busy town of Guildford, the Electric Theatre has been standing proud on the banks of the River Wey since 1997. The building it is housed in is celebrating its 100th anniversary this autumn as it was officially built in 1913. The theatre strives to provide professionally run, state-of-the-art facilities for hundreds of local amateur performers as well as some professional touring companies and local businesses.
In 1913 an electric works based foundation was established on Onslow Street to provide power to the entire Guildford town. Unfortunately as demand for electricity grew and grew, the little plant was replaced by a bigger station. The Electricity Works were still retained as a distribution centre and all the town centre mains radiated from this point. However, from 1968 the building lay dormant and was only used as a scenery store for various local theatre groups. It was not for another 20 years before the building’s potential to act as a theatre was realised. It was officially converted and reintroduced to the community as The Electric Theatre on Saturday 18 December 1997 with a special performance of the Tom Stoppard play ‘On the Razzle’ by the Herald Players.
The theatre still preserves some of the building’s oldest features like the auditorium which is known to be the oldest part of the building. It seats 210 people with a wooden sprung floor, an orchestra pit and first-class technical equipment and there have been extensions to the old building to accommodate the foyer, bar, restaurant, dressing rooms, Farley Room and toilet facilities.
The theatre is funded and managed by Guildford Borough Council with six professional staff hired to help with the day-to-day running. Local volunteers from the Friends of the Theatre provide financial support as well as helping by providing ushers for every performance.
The Electric has become a major regional attraction; in the past acting as a youth theatre and provided a home for festivals such as the Guildford Book Festival and in alternating years, the International Music Festival and the Guildford Spring Music Festival. The ‘Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts’ family festival was also hosted here in 2008 and there is an annual film festival which proves very popular. The ‘Electric Voices’ brand has brought world-renowned Folk and acoustic music acts to the theatre and celebrated artist Eric Roche even recorded a live DVD in performance at the Electric.
The theatre hosts over 350 artistic events a year, plus workshops and special events and has over 300 non-performance hires; open from Monday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm (non-performing days). The Electric are very proud to remain a thriving venue which provides diverse entertainment for the town of Guildford and beyond.
Ade Lawal