Theatre stages Wolff Olins revamp

London’s Almeida Theatre, which has spent two years occupying a former bus garage in King’s Cross, returns to its fully renovated Islington home next month with branding by Wolff Olins.

Design applications include literature, signage, stationery and advertising, in addition to the identity. According to Wolff Olins senior designer Ned Campbell, the group has given the theatre ‘an idea around which to build a brand’ – namely, ‘shake up and embrace’, which involves ‘giving the audience a vivid, sensual experience’.

The arrival of Michael Attenborough as artistic director and the return to its original home is about ‘marking change and maintaining continuity’, Campbell adds. ‘The Almeida has come of age. It’s no longer an upstart local theatre.’

The group was appointed in December 2002, without a competitive pitch, initially to design the theatre’s brochure.

The Almeida received £1.5m from the Arts Council of England in 1999 to refurbish its playhouse. Burrell Foley Fisher was the architect on the restoration.