engineering

Unicorn Theatre

Unicorn Theatre is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Unicorn Theatre rather than just read about it. In short: The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005.

Key takeaways

Unicorn Theatre belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Unicorn Theatre to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Unicorn Theatre from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup and comprises two theatre spaces (the Weston and Clore Theatres), an education studio, rehearsal space, café and the John Lyon meeting room. The theatre was founded in 1949, by Caryl Jenner, originally as a mobile theatre; In 1961, Jenner began presenting children's productions at the Arts Theatre in the West End, and in 1967 the company took over the lease of the theatre which then became Unicorn's permanent performing base until 1999; during this period the normal run of adult performances continued during the evenings. The Unicorn is a registered charity and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisation.

Origins From 1944 Caryl Jenner wrote Christmas pantomimes for small-time playhouses. During performances she would make note of the behaviour of the children, recording what scenes and sequences held their attention, and which did not. In November 1949 Caryl Jenner created the Mobile Theatre Ltd. Jenner's mission was to drive around the towns of Britain, as well as isolated villages to bring theatre to new audiences. They supplemented their income by performing to adults in the evenings. In 1962, the name changed again, to the Unicorn Theatre Club. In 1967, the company gave up touring having received an annual grant from the Arts Council, took up the lease at the Arts Theatre in London, which remained its home until the present Unicorn Theatre was built in 2005. Jenner died on 29 January 1973 at the age of 55.

Presidents The current president is Juliet Stevenson, who took over from Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE in 2007.

Artistic directors Caryl Jenner (1947–1973) Matyelok Gibbs (1973–1977) Nicholas Barter (1977–1986) Chris Wallis (1986–1990) Richard Williams (1990–1997) Tony Graham (1997–2011) Purni Morell (2011–2017) Justin Audibert (2018–2023) Rachel Bagshaw (from 2023)

Gallery

References

Sources The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, Phyllis Hartnoll (ed), Oxford, 1983. ISBN 0-19-211546-4.

External links Official website The Arts Theatre and Unicorn Theatre Archive is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Department.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Unicorn Theatre

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Unicorn Theatre claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Unicorn Theatre before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Unicorn Theatre ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Unicorn Theatre

In research: Unicorn Theatre appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Unicorn Theatre in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Unicorn Theatre is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 establishments in England, Buildings and structures completed in 2005, Children's theatre, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Unicorn Theatre outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Unicorn Theatre in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Unicorn Theatre means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Unicorn Theatre out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Unicorn Theatre in simple terms?

The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005.

Why does Unicorn Theatre matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Unicorn Theatre?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Unicorn Theatre.