Grand Theatre of Rabat

The Grand Theatre was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, won in competition in 2010, and is one of the practice's largest cultural buildings - a low curving mass of white fair-faced concrete on the Bouregreg riverbank, with continuous surfaces that fold from wall into roof and no straight lines of consequence, holding a main auditorium of around 1,800 seats, a smaller studio, and an open-air amphitheatre for several thousand facing the river. The concrete work required formwork techniques new to Moroccan contractors and the build ran many years over, with Hadid dying in 2016 well before completion; the building opened progressively from the early 2020s. It sits within the Bouregreg valley development scheme, opposite the Hassan Tower and the mausoleum on the ridge above, and the contrast between the twelfth-century minaret and the curved shell is the intended composition.

What you actually see

• A folded concrete shell - continuous curved surfaces with almost no straight lines.
• An open-air amphitheatre - several thousand seats facing the river.
• A long troubled build - years over schedule, with the architect dying before completion.
• The Hassan Tower opposite - a twelfth-century minaret across the valley from it.

When to go

October to April; evenings for the lit exterior or a performance. An hour.

Honest expectations

Interior access depends on performances and tours are not routine. The valley development around it is still under construction in parts. There is little shade on the riverside. Programme information is mostly in French and Arabic.

Nearby

The Hassan Tower and mausoleum are on the ridge above; Sale is across the river.