The architect of the current theatre, constructed as an example of Modern architecture, was Peter Moro who had worked on the interior design of the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The sculpture Sky Mirror by Anish Kapoor was installed between the theatre and the adjacent green space of Wellington Circus in 2001[3] at a cost of £1.25m (equivalent to £2,610,000 in 2023).

[4] It is one of the main features of the 160 seat Djanogly Terrace and in autumn 2007 won the Nottingham Pride of Place in a public vote to determine the city's favourite landmark.

In 2014–15, Nottingham Playhouse underwent a complete environmental upgrade including insulation of the fly tower, secondary and double glazing and installing PV panels.

Its recent successes include Old Big 'Ead in the Spirit of the Man, a homage to Nottingham legend Brian Clough, Rat Pack Confidential and Summer and Smoke, which both transferred to the West End and The Burial at Thebes which was part of the Barbican BITE season of autumn 2007 and toured the US in 2008.

In 2013, an adaptation of The Kite Runner by Matthew Spangler produced by Nottingham Playhouse became the theatre's best-selling ever drama up to that point in time.

Autumn 2014 saw a successful UK tour of the piece and in summer 2022 a Broadway revival at the Helen Haynes Theatre, again directed by Giles Croft.

The highlight of its 70th anniversary 2018 season was The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett starring Mark Gatiss, Debra Gillett and Adrian Scarborough which achieved record-breaking box office figures and was seen by around 500,000 people internationally through NTLive.

[8] In 2020-21 the theatre presented a range of live and digital productions including the world premiere of James Graham’s new play inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, titled Bubble.

Autumn 2021 saw the world premiere of Mark Gatiss’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story before a London transfer to the Alexandra Palace.