Everyman Gerrards Cross

According to a local guide at the time, the Playhouse was modelled "along the lines of that adjoining Buckingham Palace". Perhaps this regal inspiration was most encapsulated by the large Doric pillars that ran along one side of the auditorium. Seating was provided for 452, all stalls, with four boxes to the rear. There was a unique standing lobby that ran parallel to the auditorium. This allowed up to 150 people a place to wait to be seated. The screen was 16 x 12 feet and the proscenium was 25 feet wide with a stage underneath it. There were footlights across the stage which cast light onto the curtains which were mauve and old gold. There were also dressing rooms to the right of the…

The Playhouse was built in 1925 to the design of J. Stanley Beard, an illustrious cinema architect and resident of Gerrards Cross. It was located on Berwick Road (now Ethorpe Crescent). Originally, very lavish and elaborate designs were planned in 1923. However, these plans were superseded by more modest ones in 1925.

On its opening night, 12 October 1925, the Playhouse exhibited I'll Show You the Town, a silent film starring Reginald Denny and Marian Nixon. The programme was opened with Madama Ada Davis singing the British national anthem, God Save the King and also included Pathé newsreels and Pictorials.