Cambridge’s new Howard Theatre opened at Downing College

INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed theatre Director Sir Trevor Nunn was guest of honour at the official opening of Cambridge’s newest theatre this week.


[Pictured left to right: Dr Alan Howard, Professor Barry Everitt, Master of Downing College, and Sir Trevor Nunn.]

The Howard Theatre in Downing College grounds is a brand new 160-seat performance space. Equipped with state of the art technical stage facilities, it has been designed, built and decorated in the neo-classical style inherent in Downing’s collection of buildings.

Inside the theatre, the decorative trompe l’oeil artwork covering the ceiling evokes the spirit of Georgian theatre while front-of-house curtain shows a Grecian street scene, portraying the College among images of classical Greek architecture such as the Acropolis.

Funded by an £8 million benefaction from College alumnus Dr Alan Howard, the building is in Ketton Stone and has a number of environmentally sustainable features including ground source heating and cooling and solar panels in its Welsh slate roof. The leather seating comes from Italian firm Poltrona Frau who have supplied seats for La Scala, the New York Metropolitan Opera and leather for Ferrari, BMW and Mercedes cars.

Sir Trevor Nunn was an undergraduate at Downing between 1959 and 1962, reading English. He began his stage career while at the College and has gone on to become one of the leading figures in British Theatre, as Artistic Director of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and then the Royal National Theatre.

Dr Alan Howard, the benefactor, came up to Downing in 1948 and read Natural Sciences.

The theatre has been designed by architects Francis and Quninlan Terry who have a long association with Downing. Francis Terry read Architecture at Downing in the late 80’s.

For more information on the theatre CLICK HERE

Dr Alan Howard

His career at Cambridge University spans 60 years and he has held positions in the Department of Investigative Medicine and Pathology as well as the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, before founding his own laboratory at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, which was closed in 1999.

He has published over 250 original articles in medical literature and authored and edited 8 major books on coronary heart disease and obesity. He was co-founder of the International Journal of Obesity and was involved in the foundation of the International Congress on Obesity and the European Atherosclerosis Society. His work on obesity led to the development of Very Low Calorie Diets, leading to a number of commercial products including his own formulation of the Cambridge Diet, which has been used by millions of people worldwide.

In 1982, he established the Howard Foundation, a charitable trust supporting bio-medical research at the University of Cambridge, and which has donated sums for four buildings at Downing College.

Downing College

Downing College was founded in 1800 under the Will of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet. Located on 17 acres in the heart of Cambridge, Downing is distinguished by the style of its neo-classical architecture, established by William Wilkins, and it open green spaces.

The College has gained a reputation as one of the leading places to study Law and Medicine. However, it also has a significant number of notable number alumni in the field of arts and media: Quentin Blake (1953), Sir Trevor Nunn (1959), Michael Apted (1960), John Cleese (1960), Andy Hamilton (1973) and Thandie Newton (1992) studied at Downing.

Professor Barry Everitt, is the Master of Downing College. The Patron is HRH The Duchess of Kent.

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