Brighton Dome: Venues reopen after six-year refurbishment

A historical entertainment venue in Sussex is reopening its doors after a six-year refurbishment.

The Grade I listed Corn Exchange, inside Brighton Dome, will welcome back guests for its first performance on Wednesday evening.

The Studio Theatre, which has also undergone extensive renovation, is due to reopen later this month.

A Dome spokesman said the £38m project "signals the importance of arts and culture to Brighton and Hove".

Restoration of the venues includes two new bars, a restaurant, a new copper roof and a horse sculpture.

The Dome's Concert Hall and Corn Exchange were originally commissioned as a stable block and riding house by the Prince Regent in 1803, while the Studio Theatre was built as a supper room in the 1930s.

The original wooden beams of the Corn Exchange's timber frame have been restored, while 34 pilaster columns have been recreated from 200-year-old archive drawings.

The Studio Theatre's original copper roof has also been replaced.

Andrew Comben, chief executive of Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, said: "We have come together believing in the central importance of arts and culture to Brighton and Hove's identity, its economy and its social wellbeing.

"It is our enormous privilege now to open our doors and share the stories these beautiful buildings hold already and those yet to be written."

Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "This has been one of the most important and ambitious projects undertaken in the city during recent years and reflects our commitment to protecting and preserving our precious historic buildings."

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