Shakespeare North Playhouse: Another award for £25m building that 'put Prescot on the map'

Completed for Knowsley Council in 2022, the £25m theatre and educational venue has been described a ‘game-changing regeneration project’ and the building that ‘put Presoct on the map’.

The theatre received RIBA’s top regional Building of the Year Award earlier this year, as well as receiving the North West Award. The project architect, Nicholas Helm, was awarded RIBA North West Project Architect of the Year for ‘the way he tirelessly pursued’ it for more than ten years.

Now, Shakespeare North Trust and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council have been named the overall winners of RIBA’s 2024 Client of the Year Award, for the ambitious community regeneration project.

Built on a former council-owned car park, the new theatre building aims to promote learning, experimentation, and reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s works, with an exhibition space, outdoor performance area, seminar rooms, and the only known purpose-built indoor Elizabethan theatre.

The council say the Shakespeare North has ‘inspired and invigorated an historic Merseyside town’ with RIBA commending community engagement throughout the project, including collaborations with independent businesses.

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