Alright, take a look ahead-see that bold, shiny building with the shimmering metal mesh and the tall pointed tower? That’s the Marlowe Theatre! Look for the rows of polished stone columns along the front, a bit like a modern palace, and if you spot a statue outside, that's the Muse of Poetry, keeping an eye on Canterbury’s thespians. If you hear a gentle buzz of excited voices and maybe catch a whiff of coffee drifting over from the foyer, you’re definitely in the right place.
Ready for the show, or at least the story? The Marlowe Theatre is the grand stage of Canterbury, seating up to 1,200 eager theatre-lovers at a time. This place wears its playwright badge proudly-it’s named after Christopher Marlowe, who was actually born in Canterbury. I suppose he was the original Canterbury Tale!
Back in the day, before World War I, a theatre opened in a different spot nearby, but by the 1920s it had swapped out plays for movies and became a cinema. Imagine the flickering light of old black-and-white films. When the war ended, drama returned and the Marlowe Theatre was reborn, changing homes a few times and even briefly hosting major music acts like The Cure and Joy Division! Fancy that-goths and Shakespeare sharing a stage.
Standing here now, you might notice the gleaming copper and steel façade-the theatre’s third and most impressive home, also the second tallest structure in the city after the grand cathedral. Not bad company to keep, right? When they built this version in 2011, they cleverly created a glassy, grand foyer, and the flytower rises overhead like a silver exclamation point.
Outside you’ll see two statues-one is the poetic muse, surrounded by characters from Marlowe’s plays. The other is comedian and panto star Dave Lee, smiling as if he just cracked a joke (which is entirely possible). So if you feel a chuckle coming on, blame Dave.
Not even a global pandemic could close the curtain on the Marlowe for long. In 2020, during the lockdown, clever folks filled the empty red seats with cardboard cutouts of famous Kent residents so the place wouldn’t feel lonely. But don’t worry, those two-dimensional theatre fans have moved on to new homes, so the real stars-that’s you-are back in the stalls.
Now, as you stand here, picture the thrill before curtain up, the orchestra tuning in the pit, and the promise that something unexpected might just leap from the stage. Shall we stroll on to our next act? On to the next stop!
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