New theatre announces first shows

The project started in 2005

Leicester's new multi-million pound theatre has revealed which plays will feature in its first season.

The Curve, which cost £61m, opens in three months' time and is part of the city council's regeneration programme.

The new theatre replaces the Haymarket which closed five years ago because of crippling debts.

The official opening show on 4 December will be Simply Cinderella, a musical directed and choreographed by Adam Cooper commissioned by Curve.

The theatre will put on two world premieres, a European premiere, and an Olivier and Tony award winning show, with a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It also billed for next year.

Theatre space

The project started in 2005, and at £61m, costs more than double the original estimate of £26m.

Contractors blamed the rising cost of materials.

More than 640 panes of glass were put on the outside of the building - enough to cover a football pitch.

There will be two auditoriums, one seating 750, the other 350, but they can be combined into one theatre space.

The theatre will be run by independent charitable organisation Leicester Theatre Trust.

Bodies which funded the theatre include Leicester City Council, Arts Council England, the National Lottery, East Midlands Development Agency, Leicestershire Economic Partnership, and the European Union.