In 1958 the University Grants Committee agreed to allocate a sum of £175,000 for the construction of a new oval shaped theatre, which would have been built next to University House and was predicted to be completed for 1965. By early 1963, the funding was revoked because a theatre building was no longer considered a priority for the university given other pressures arising from construction underway at the time. Eventually, the Drama Studio opened on a nearby site in 1970, which was considered something of a compromise.