Leicester Haymarket Theatre

The Leicester Haymarket Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, next to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester City centre. It operated as a theatre (with two stages) from 1973 to 2007, and again briefly between 2017 and 2020. Since 2023 it has been a teaching and performing base for a dance school.

History The Haymarket Theatre was designed by Building Design Partnership, to supersede the small Phoenix Theatre. When first built, the auditorium sat 750 people, "built with a large London dimensioned stage, capable of staging grand Opera, or Ballet, but having too small a seating capacity to make it viable for such shows".Garratt, David. "The Haymarket Theatre, Leicester", ArthurLloyd.co.uk, accessed 26 February 2026 Later a rehearsal area in the building was converted into a smaller, more intimate stage, the Studio Theatre, which sat 120 people.

The Haymarket Theatre was opened by Sir Ralph Richardson on 30 November 1973. The opening season started ahead of the official opening with The Recruiting Officer on 17 October 1973, Economic Necessity on 24 October and Cabaret on 21 November. Leicester City Council purchased a 99-year lease of the theatre in 1974.

The Haymarket's early production directors were Robin Midgley and Michael Bogdanov. The musical director was American Robert Mandell, and the Haymarket soon gained a reputation for developing and producing stage musicals, many of which transferred to the West End in London and Broadway in New York. The Haymarket mounted several musicals in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh.

Between 1973 and 2007 the theatre was operated by The Leicester Theatre Trust. The Trust vacated the theatre in 2007 when it moved to the newly built Curve Theatre, Leicester in Leicester's Cultural Quarter. The last show held at the Haymarket by the Leicester Theatre Trust was Wizard of Oz starring Helena Blackman in 2006. The theatre was closed in 2007 and remained so for the next 10 years.

In June 2016 the management of the theatre was taken over by an organisation known as the Haymarket Consortium who undertook that it would be re-opened as a performance, training and e-sports venue. The theatre was re-opened for performances on 2 March 2017 and a formal opening ceremony took place later that year. The theatre closed again in March 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic and entered liquidation on 22 May 2020.

In 2023 it reopened as a teaching and performing base for a dance school.

Metal Tree sculpture The Metal Tree sculpture by Hubert Dalwood, at the front of the entrance to the Haymarket Theatre, was the only major piece of abstract sculpture in the city centre for many years. It was unveiled in 1974.

Selected productions The theatre was noted for its production of musicals, some in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh. The following are some of the productions held at the theatre. All are in the main theatre, unless noted (Studio Theatre productions). 1970s 1973. The Recruiting Officer, by George Farquhar. 17 October – 10 November 1973. 1973. Economic Necessity, by John Hopkin, starring Anthony Bate. World premiere. 24 October – 17 November 1973. 1973. Cabaret, by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff. 21 November – 19 December 1973. 1973–1974. Aladdin. Pantomime. 22 December 1973 – 19 January 1974. 1974. Caucasian Chalk Circle, by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Michael Bogdanov. March 1974. 1974. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Maynard Williams and Michael Attwell. 13 March – 20 April 1974. 1974. Little Lamb, by Liane Aukin, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Heather Sears and Bill Wallis. May 1974. 1974. Hobson's Choice, by Harold Brighouse. Ended 29 June 1974. 1974. Happy as a Sandbag, by Ken Lee, directed by Philip Hedley and Rhys McConnochie, starring Brian Protheroe, Lesley Duff and Darryl Kavann. Ended 17 August 1974. 1974. Leave Him to Heaven, by Ken Lee, directed by Philip Hedley and Rhys McConnochie, starring Brian Protheroe, Lesley Duff and Darryl Kavann. Ended 17 August 1974. 1974. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Ben Cross, Maynard Williams and Michael Attwell. 22 August – 14 September 1974. 1974. Equus, by Peter Shaffer, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Ben Cross and Carmen Silvera. 25 September – 12 October 1974. 1974. How the Other Half Loves, by Alan Ayckbourn. Ended 16 November 1974. 1974. Irma La Douce, by Marguerite Monnot, Julian More, David Heneker and Monty Norman, directed by Robin Midgley and Peter Reeves, starring Ben Cross and Penelope Nice. 20 November – 14 December 1974. 1974. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, directed by Michael Bogdanov, starring Alan Rickman, Mary Rutherford, Bill Wallis and Jonathan Kent. 1974. Mind Your Head, by Adrian Mitchell, starring Ben Cross. 1974–1975. Dick Whittington. Pantomime, by Anthony Cornish and Christopher Tookey, directed by Anthony Cornish, starring Linal Haft, Buster Skeggs and Perry Cree. 19 December 1974 – 25 January 1975. 1975. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Alan Rickman, Maynard Williams and David Quilter. 22 July – 30 August 1975. 1975. There's a Girl in My Soup, by Terence Frisby. ? – Saturday 20 September 1975. 1975. Guys and Dolls, by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Alan Rickman, Michael Attwell, Bill Wallis, Maynard Williams and Niki Marvin. 6 November – 12 December 1975. 1975–1976. Babes in the Wood. Pantomime. December 1975 – January 1976. 1976. The Fantasticks, by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. Studio Theatre, 20 January – 7 February 1976. 1976. Absurd Person Singular, by Alan Ayckbourn. 21 January – 14 February 1976. 1976. Bloody Neighbours, by Richard Crane. Studio Theatre, 10 February – 21 February 1976. 1976. A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Mia Farrow and Heather Sears. 25 February – 13 March 1976. 1976. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee. 1976. Knocking on My Floor, by William Fairchild. 7 April – 24 April 1976. 1976. Mame, by Jerry Herman. 28 April – 8 May 1976. 1976. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. 1976. Sophocles: The Theban Plays (the 'Oedipus trilogy'). Oedipus Rex starring Miriam Karlin. 13 October – 6 November 1976. 1976. The Boy Friend, directed by Alexander Doré, starring Miriam Karlin and Elaine Paige. November 1976. 1976–1977. Cinderella. Pantomime. Thursday 23 December 1976 – Saturday 15 January 1977. 1977. Hay Fever, by Noël Coward, directed by Jan Sargent, starring Miriam Karlin, Grania Hayes and David Glover. 8 March – 2 April 1977. 1977. The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov, starring Miriam Karlin. April 1977. 1977. Cause Célèbre, by Terence Rattigan, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Glynis Johns and Helen Lindsay. World premiere. Wednesday 18 May – Saturday 18 June 1977. 1977. Oliver!, by Lionel Bart, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Roy Hudd. Saturday 16 July – Saturday 3 September 1977. 1977. Rain, by W. Somerset Maugham, adaptation by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, directed by Bob Carlton, starring Carroll Baker. 1977. She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith, starring Paul Lavers, Heather Sears and James Hayter, 19 October – 5 November 1977. 1977. Camelot, by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner. 10 November – 17 December 1977. 1977. A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen. Studio Theatres. Ended Saturday 10 December 1977. 1977–1978. Jack and the Beanstalk. Pantomime. Thursday 22 December 1977 – Saturday 28 January 1978. 1978. Crippen, by Richard Crane, directed by Hugh Wooldridge, starring Grania Hayes and Derek Beard. Studio Theatre, January 1978. 1978. Otherwise Engaged, by Simon Gray, directed by Jan Sargent, starring Wendy Gifford, Michael Gunn, Rosamund Shelley, Barry Justice, David Neal, Roy Macready and Bob Cartland. 3 May – 27 May 1978. 1978. See How They Run, by Philip King. Tuesday 6 June 1978 – ?. 1978. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Clive Wood and Nigel Bennett. 20 July – 2 September 1978. 1978. Misalliance, by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Michael Meacham, starring Clive Wood and David Timson. 1978–1979. My Fair Lady, by Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe and George Bernard Shaw, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Tony Britton, Liz Robertson, Peter Bayliss and Dame Anna Neagle. November 1978 – January 1979. 1978–1979. The Gingerbread Man, by David Wood. Studio Theatre. November 1978 – January 1979. 1978–1979. Mother Goose. Pantomime, directed by Alexander Doré, starring Jean Morton, Russell Henderson and Roy Macready. 21 December 1978 – ? 1979. 1979. One of Our Howls is Missing, by Raymond Allen, directed by Jimmy Thompson, starring Carol Hawkins and Christopher Beeny. Wednesday 25 April 1979 – ?. 1979. All Together Now, by Peter Buckman and Clive Swift, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Russell Henderson, Terry Molloy and Alan Starkey. 4 July – 21 July 1979. 1979. The Rocky Horror Show, by Richard O'Brien, directed by Jim Sharman, starring Daniel Abineri, Amanda Redman, Nicholas Courtney, Trevor Byfield and Sarah Payne. 8 August – 8 September 1979, before a national tour. 1979. Caste, by Thomas William Robertson, directed by Michael Meacham, starring Roger Davenport, James Hayter, Pippa Guard, Geoffrey Burridge, Pamela Lane, Bob Hewis and Joanne Pearce. 12 September 1979 – ?. 1979. An Early Life (part of The Glittering Prizes), by Frederic Raphael, directed by Michael Meacham, starring Geoffrey Burridge, Pippa Guard, David Cann, Roy Macready and Carmen Silvera. Ended 27 October 1979. 1979–1980. Oklahoma!, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, directed by James Hammerstein, starring John Diedrich, Christina Mathews, Madge Ryan, Alfred Molina, Linal Haft, Mark White, Shan Stevens and Robert Bridges. 29 November 1979 – 2 February 1980. 1979–1980. Nutcracker Sweet, by David Wood. 4 December 1979 – 12 January 1980. 1979–1980. Just a Verse and a Chorus, by and starring Roy Hudd. Studio Theatre, 19 December 1979 – 19 January 1980.

1980s 1980. Funny Peculiar, by Mike Stott, directed by Robin Midgley, starring Michael Gunn, Penelope Nice, Barbara New, David Riley, Alan Starkey, Carol Cleveland, Patrick Monckton and Nigel Bennett. 13 February – 8 March 1980. 1980. One for the Pot, by Ray Cooney and Tony Hilton, starring Roy Hudd. May 1980. 1980. Godspell, by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, directed by Jan Sargent. 19 July 1980 – ?. 1980. Once a Catholic, by Mary O'Malley, directed by Warren Hooper, starring Susan Beagley, Wendy Brierly, Christopher Brown, Joyce Fenby, Desmond Jordan, Pamela Lane and Tim McInnerny. Ended 27 September 1980. 1980. The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, directed by Frank Hauser, starring David Downer, Isabelle Amyes, Polly Adams, Richard Easton, Margaretta Scott and Desmond Jordan. 1 October 1980 – ? (The entire production transferred to The Old Vic, London, opening 14 October 1980, so before then). 1980–1981. Gigi, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, starring Dilys Hamlett, David Firth, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. November 1980 – 17 January 1981. 1981. School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, directed by Colin George. Wednesday 21 January 1981 – ?. 1981. Two Into One, by Ray Cooney, directed by Roger Redfarn, starring Jan Walters and Richard Coleman. World premiere. 19 March 1981 – ?. 1981. The Ghost of Daniel Lambert, by Sue Townsend, starring Perry Cree. 7 May – 11 July 1981. 1981. Godspell, by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. June – August 1981.