Building theatre, making policy: materiality and cultural democracy at Liverpool’s PurpleDoor

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article approaches the idea of architecture, theatre and cultural democracy as relational concepts, and considers the theatre building as a cultural artefact which both manifests and embodies power relations. We use the case study of Liverpool’s PurpleDoor to explore this idea. We consider theatre buildings as cultural artefacts to focus attention on the impact of material or physical factors and the power of cultural institutions to orient specific forms of behaviour and activity around themselves. In seeing architectural design as an embodiment of politics, philosophy and cultural policy, the article considers both the practical and theoretical dimensions of the future of a theatre architecture concerned with cultural democracy. The interconnection between political ideas of theatre’s contemporary social role and the material construction of the building – the performative nature of the performance space – become vital in recognising and re-prioritising values designed to address the intersectional nature of power systems afflicting the cultural sector and enabling citizen usage of cultural space. The article situates PurpleDoor in an historical lineage which articulates the aspiration to become both a site for critical inquiry and a contemporary manifestation of cultural democracy for 21st century British theatre.