New Theatre Oxford

The New Theatre Oxford is the city's main commercial theatre, programming West End musicals, large-scale plays, comedy tours, opera, ballet and the annual pantomime. The current building opened in 1933, a comprehensive rebuild on the site of the New Theatre of 1836. It seats around 1,785 across stalls and two circles — by a wide margin Oxford's largest stage.

The 1933 building was designed by the Milburn Brothers with interiors by T.P. Bennett, in a stripped-down art-deco idiom typical of inter-war touring houses. The proscenium and auditorium have been refurbished but the period feel survives. It changed hands several times across the twentieth century — most prominently as the Apollo Oxford from the 1970s — before passing to the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) in 2009, which restored the original "New Theatre" name.

What's on

Programming is overwhelmingly touring product: West End musicals on their post-London circuit, name-led comedians, Northern Ballet, the Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne on tour, and a long-running winter pantomime. Major shows here open the same week they would in Bristol or Cambridge. Tickets are pitched at touring-theatre prices — circle stalls for premium musicals run £50–£80, with cheaper upper-circle and side seats.

Visiting

The entrance is on George Street opposite the Old Fire Station. It is a five-minute walk from the Westgate and the train station, with no dedicated car park — use Westgate or Worcester Street. Bars on both circle levels open before the show and at the interval. The auditorium itself is large enough that sightlines matter: check the ATG seating plan before booking.

Building dates, capacity and ATG takeover from the Wikipedia article. Programme detail from the ATG New Theatre Oxford venue page.