Barry Pritchard

Senior Associate

Barry is one of the UK’s most experienced theatre and concert hall architects, having led and worked on 40 major projects throughout his career.

Barry Pritchard

Barry spent many years working for the architects RHWL, where he was a founder member of Arts Team. He is now a much-valued Senior Associate at Theatreplan, having established a strong working relationship with the company whilst collaborating on many projects over the years.

Barry initially became hooked on theatre whilst a pupil at Alleyns’ School in Dulwich. He went on to become a leading member of the National Youth Theatre, where he was involved with the first production of Peter Terson’s ‘Zigger Zagger’. After qualifying as an architect, he undertook an MSc in Architectural Conservation and has successfully combined these passions throughout his career.

Some of Barry’s most significant roles include being Principal Architect for Milton Court, comprising a 608-seat concert hall, 230 seat theatre, 100 seat studio theatre and rehearsal/teaching rooms, for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He was Principal Director for the project at Brighton Dome, where, working with Theatreplan, the historic auditorium was restored to create an adaptable stage suitable for lyric theatre, orchestral and choral music, rock bands and light entertainment. He also led the design and installation of the demountable theatre in the historic Corn Exchange. Further projects include leading the £39M restoration of the London Coliseum for English National Opera; early proposals for the remodelling of Sadler’s Wells Theatre into London’s state-of-the-art international dance theatre, and working as Executive Director for the building of Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, a 2500 seat international concert hall and home of the Hallé Orchestra, again working with Theatreplan.

Barry has a particular expertise in creating auditoria and stages for drama, opera and dance, providing excellent connectivity between audiences and performers, a welcoming front of house design and efficient backstage planning. He was a key contributor to ABTT/Routledge’s ‘Theatre Buildings – a design guide’, first published in 2010, and the revised edition for 2023.

Barry has an informal working style and believes great communication is key to achieving client's aspirations. He brings his theatre planning skills to bear on Theatreplan projects, large and small, most recently for the Australian Chamber Orchestra's new venue in Sydney.

In 2015 he was made an Associate of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

Current Position
Senior Associate

Qualifications
D Arch, MSc Architect RIBA

Professional Associations
Associate Of The National Youth Theatre Of Great Britain

About Us

Theatreplan is a specialist technical design consultancy, helping to create amazing spaces for performance, around the world.

What We Do

What We Do
We provide the complete range of venue and auditorium planning, and technical design services, including lighting, sound, stage engineering,
AV, digital and communications. We cover all stages of a project, from feasibility and concept design, right through to construction and opening night.

We help design new spaces for performance, wherever live or digital content is shown and created, from concert halls and school theatres, to cinemas and motion capture studios. We also help refurbish historic theatres, and work with some of the world’s largest and most complex performance venues to upgrade their technical facilities.

Our Approach
Your vision, for your performance space, provides the focus for our work. We will closely collaborate with you, and other specialists when working as part of a design team, so we understand what you really need from your space. We will be honest with you about what we think is achievable and the best ways to go about delivering your vision. We will suggest new ideas that may not have been considered before and discuss these ideas with you to ensure they meet your requirements.

Why Choose Theatreplan?
For over 35 years we have designed award winning performing arts venues, and re-imagined existing spaces, for clients around the world. Our specialist venue planners and auditorium designers help create beautiful, bespoke performance spaces, while our stage engineers, lighting, sound, AV and communications consultants, can provide cutting edge technical infrastructure design, having gained their knowledge and expertise through years of experience working in theatres.

We understand practitioners, and what creatives, directors, performers, and technicians need to make their performances thrill, excite and move audiences, with dynamic, flexible spaces that cater for the many and varied requirements for performance today.

We know what audiences want from a venue and how to make that a reality

We always factor in the needs of operators to ensure venues are sustainable for the future.

And we prioritise environmental sustainability throughout every stage of a project, to bring innovative solutions that support sustainable development.

We have an absolute commitment to ensuring client satisfaction and an engaging, fun, and genuinely collaborative approach to the creative process.

We can’t wait to hear about your project. Call us on +44 (0) 20 7841 0440 or get in touch via email: info@theatreplan.com

Our Team

All
Directors
Consultants
Architects/Technical
Operations
Associates
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Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Executive Director
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Dave Ludlam
Dave Ludlam
Executive Director
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Mathew Smethurst-Evans
Mathew Smethurst-Evans
Executive Director
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Matt Kingslake
Matt Kingslake
Consultant
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Chris Needle
Chris Needle
Consultant and BIM Manager
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Chris Pye
Chris Pye
Senior Associate
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John Whitaker
John Whitaker
Founder Consultant
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Roger Fox
Roger Fox
Founder Consultant
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Kit Lerman
Kit Lerman
Consultant and Head of Audio, Video, Broadcast
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Jibril Muhammad
Jibril Muhammad
Junior Consultant
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Bosco Tan
Bosco Tan
Senior Associate
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Peter Crockett
Peter Crockett
Stage Engineer
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Lara Kerrison
Lara Kerrison
Architect and Theatre Planner
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Barry Pritchard
Barry Pritchard
Senior Associate
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Paolo Ribichescu
Paolo Ribichesu
BIM Architect
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Andrea Sinigaglia
Andrea Sinigaglia
BIM Architect
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Anniek Wassser
Anniek Wasser
Senior Associate
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Amy Hickson
Amy Hickson
Practice Coordinator
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Helen Walker
Helen Walker MBE
Director of Operations

Our Partnerships

Theatreplan is proud to support the following sector organisations

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Theatres Trust 2023
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