Rex Harrison and Robert Flemyng. Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence worked with the company as child actors. Other artistes who gained experience at the theatre include Lilian Braithwaite, Cecil Parker, John Gregson, Clive Brook, C. Aubrey Smith, Richard Burton, Patricia Routledge, Anthony Hopkins, and Richard Briers. Architecture Older section The exterior of the older part of the theatre is stuccoed, and it has a slate roof. Its entrance front faces Williamson Square. It has seven bays and is in three storeys. The central three bays project forward and are surmounted by a broken pediment. On the ground floor the central bays contain three entrances, separated by pillars, which lead to a recessed porch. Over each entrance is an architrave containing a fanlight. The lateral bays contain two round-headed and one flat-headed entrance on each side, over which are three blind round windows. In the middle storey, the bays are separated by pilasters. The three central bays each have a balustrade and a window with a tympanum containing a roundel. Each of the three lateral bays contains a window with a cornice, and a round window above it. Along the top storey are oculi between panelled pilasters. On the summit of each of the two lateral bays is a cupola on a short Tuscan colonnade. Inside the older part of the theatre are two balconies supported by cast iron columns. The interior is decorated in Greek Revival style. Newer section The newer section is constructed in concrete, and largely faced by glass. On the ground floor are entrance doors. Above this, the building is based around three cylinders. The largest of these starts at the first floor and rises through two storeys. It is cantilevered from a central column. To the left is a smaller cylinder, cantilevered from a separate column, interlocking with the larger cylinder. Inside the whole is a hollow column containing the stairs. Assessment and critique The theatre is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, having been designated on 14 March 1975. In its description, the list quotes the Architects' Journal of 1968 which says of the older section that it is "significant as an early and rare work by one of the pioneers of the Liverpool School of Architecture, in the Grecian style favoured by the school at that date", and of the newer section that it is