The pub where Nottingham Forest was born has been...

The Playwright is the new name for the tavern where Nottingham Forest first appeared.

Today, Friday, May 24, a tavern that was the site of Nottingham Forest’s renowned founding more than 150 years

ago is reopening following renovations.

The boozer has changed locations from the Clinton Arms to the Orange Tree and now The Playwright. It has a new

menu of food and beverages and a completely renovated interior and exterior, albeit it isn’t quite finished.

Later this year a plaque will be erected on the building commemorating the historic moment in 1865 when 15 shinty

players agreed to a proposal by J.S. Scrimshaw to form a football team and Garibaldi Red was chosen as the club’s

colour.

But back to the present, the pub, in Shakespeare Street, which was the Orange Tree for more than a decade, has been

christened The Playwright by the new owners, in homage to Britain’s most celebrated writer.

A plaque honouring the historic event in 1865, when 15 shinty players accepted J.S. Scrimshaw’s request to start a

football team and Garibaldi Red was selected as the club’s colour, will be placed on the building later this year.

Returning to the present, the new proprietors have renamed the bar in Shakespeare Street—which was known as the

Orange Tree for over ten years—The Playwright in honour of Britain’s most renowned author.

The function rooms are called Hamlet’s Hideaway and Poets Corner, the restrooms are called Romeo and Juliet, and

the snug at the front has been christened Gertrude’s Gaff after Hamlet’s mother, all of which are references to some

of William Shakespeare’s best-known plays.

L>R Assistant manager Hannah Martin and general manager Jon Killett at The Playwright.

Following “a large sum” for a four-week makeover, the pub has reopened with a cosy new design for relaxed

lunchtimes, exciting evenings with DJs and live music, and long summer days in the remodelled garden.

Opening night kicks off with live music from The Verzions and K Fowkes, while the stage is set for this year’s Dot to

Dot Festival’s line-up. The Ruffs and Silkrats are amongst the acts performing there on May 26.

The pub, which was sold to UK brewery giant Charles Wells earlier this year, is part of the growing Pizza, Pots and

Pints brand and hopes to do a roaring trade in all three.

The new pizza oven next to the bar will serve freshly baked artisan pizzas that are wood-fired. Ordering Donald will

get you hoisin sauce and duck with a Chinese flair, Toni will have spicy pepperoni on top and Camel will have

sausage and camembert.

Terracotta pots brimming with comforting dishes like mac & cheese, pulled brisket lasagne, prawn red Thai curry,

and tahini cauliflower are referred to as the pots collection.

The pub where Nottingham Forest was born has been transformed into The Playwright