The contextual framework in which the theatre develops and changes affects its architecture to a great degree. Throughout history, theatre spaces have survived many a revolution, changing their form and adapting to each new circumstance. However, in considering the theatre typology as an initiator of change – generator of a new context – the ways in which different concepts and architectural devices can redefine the urban identity, typology, institutions and function are revealed. With the process of conceptualizing context, a design solution for the rehabilitation of an amphitheatre in Ouagadougou is defined, and a new context generated for this space.