The Mill Studio is a unique and intimate 80 seater auditorium which hosts an eclectic mix of classical and contemporary work, staging newer and less established writers. It falls under the management and direction of the neighboring Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and is used as a storage area, rehearsal studio and secondary stage for smaller productions.
Children’s events are popular, alongside one night performances, music, comedy, contemporary dance and more experimental theatre. The Youth and Education department at the Yvonne Arnaud use the studios for rehearsals and regular productions in the Mill Studio and then perform an annual summer musical on the main stage.
The three storey red brick building in Millbrook dates back to 1776 and was extended in 1852. The 1896 date plaque was affixed when the Borough council bought the waterworks and installed new equipment and housed pumps for the town’s water supply, the original pumping system having been set up in the fulling mill in 1701. Originally the eighteenth-century Town Mill building housed the theatre’s workshops, but then the studio opened in 1993 as a base for the Youth Theatre’s activities. In 1997, a National Lottery grant was used to upgrade the facilities, enabling expansion in audience capacity and the range of productions presented.
James Martin