(a name given to) a small playhouse or theatre; now spec. an independent theatre used for experimental or avant-garde drama, or for community…

A small enclosed theatre of the 17th cent. (see quot. 1891). Now historical.

= private house, n. 2; (later also) any theatre owned and run by a private individual, esp. one staging performances for invited audiences only.

figurative and in figurative contexts. A place or scene of activity, debate, or conflict; a focus of public interest or attention.

attributive and in other combinations, as †droll-booth, droll-house, a place where drolls were acted (obsolete); droll-teller.

a theatre operating only in the summer; (also) theatrical productions taking place in the summer; summer stock theatre (cf. summer stock n.).

Chiefly depreciative. A theatre, (later) esp. one in which musicals, variety acts, or similar shows are performed. Also occasionally: a show, an…

a theatre endowed by the state.

gen. A minor work, company, sporting competition, etc.

Theatre slang. A legitimate theatre or actor. Also: †a writer of legitimate drama (obsolete). Also (with the): = the legitimate drama at sense A…

= patent theatre n.

any of several theatres established by Royal Patent between the 17th and 19th centuries; spec. (in London) the theatres of Covent Garden and Drury…

In the United States: a river steamboat used to host theatrical performances, esp. at settlements along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Now histo…

U.S. A theatre where music is performed. rare.

Any public place of amusement. Hence the term has passed into the literary vocabulary as the name for the low class of theatre or music-hall to…

In modern use, An edifice specially adapted to dramatic representations; a playhouse.

a theatre showing performances featuring dancing girls in revealing costumes; cf. leg show n.

a theatre for community use, esp. one run on socialist principles.

Originally U.S. A theatre or cinema, or (occasionally) other place of entertainment, with an admission fee of one nickel. Now historical.

a small theatre frequently used for new or experimental drama; (also) drama performed in such a theatre.

Theatre. = legitimate, n. 3.

British. A familiar or colloquial name for: a theatre or cinema having a reputation for presenting violent or sensational material, esp. lurid…

The style of theatre characterized by the performance of plays or other dramatic performances from a repertoire, in which the work performed…

(a) a small-time theatre (rare); (b) a small-time operator, an insignificant person.

A cinema showing a variety of films in continuous succession, usually with low admission fees and frequently concentrating on material regarded as…

A small theatre.

An independent film (or, later, television) producer or production company; an independently produced film or programme; by extension applied to…

Vaudeville (sense 2); a vaudeville theatre. Also attributive.

U.S. Theatre. A summer theatre; a theatre operating during the summer only and presenting various productions or companies. Frequently attributive.

transferred. a form of theatrical presentation in which the audience is seated in a circle around the stage or on at least three of its sides.

a straw-hat theatre, or play presented in one.

depreciative. A cinema, esp. one that is dirty, run-down, or third-rate. Cf. fleapit n. at flea, n. compounds 2a. In later use chiefly South African.

a restaurant where theatrical entertainment is provided for customers.

a theatre in which dinner, included in the price of the ticket, is served before, or during intervals in, the performance; (also) the type of play…

a theatre for which tickets are sold only to members (esp. in order to circumvent the censorship of public performances).

Theatre. A type of simple performance space, usually in the form of a rectangular room with plain black walls, an unraked floor which also serves…

a pub at which theatrical performances take place; a piece of theatre performed at a pub.

space where drama, music, etc., may be performed; (as a count noun) an area in which a performance takes place, a venue; spec. the area in a…