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Amid the threat of funding cuts to theatres across the country, Kingston University is celebrating the opening of Britain's first purpose-built theatre of the 21st century. The ?11 million Rose Theatre has been supported by the university, both financially and through the involvement of its staff. Its first production, Uncle Vanya, is directed by the university's chancellor, Sir Peter Hall, the first director of the National Theatre on the South Bank and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Sir Peter, who was appointed professor of drama at Kingston in 2003, hopes to see a postgraduate course at Kingston feeding students into two small companies at the Rose.