For Theatreplan, the recent visit to Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre by members of the Association of British Theatre Technicians represented the culmination of over three years intensive work as theatre consultants on the project. The refurbishment of the Crucible Theatre was split into phases to allow the theatre to continue to present the annual World Snooker Championships. The initial phase was completed in April 2008 with the replacement of the stage, and the second phase ended in December 2009 following extensive work in the auditorium of the main theatre and refurbishment of the studio theatre. The refurbishment cost of around £15.4m was funded through a mixture of grants from Yorkshire Forward, Sheffield County Council, The Arts Council England, and the European Regional Development Fund as well as some private donations.
The re-development of the Crucible has included fitting a new roof, reinforcing the building’s foundations, adding new external cladding, and redevelopment of the front of house areas. The Box Office has relocated to the front of the building, with a wider, brighter space providing a more welcome experience for visitors and theatre-goers. The signature auditorium was fitted with a new thrust stage in phase 1, new seats with higher backs for more comfort and the new energy efficient ‘twinkle’ lights enhance one of the UK’s most stunning theatrical spaces. Striking visual changes include the dramatic glass-fronted entrance, a new function room, and a more central and remodelled bar area.
Access improvements include ten wheelchair spaces inside the auditorium, new handrails, a lift serving all levels and a ramp into the bar area. Dressing rooms have been added and upgraded, along with a new Green Room and Stage Door, making the building a more welcoming place for performers and staff.
While the Crucible’s famous thrust stage looks exactly the same as the original, Theatreplan specified a Steeldeck® system for ease of use and durability for the future. The parts are all standard sizes so the new stage is very quick and easy to adapt, readily accommodating traps and staircases for scenic elements of a production. The stage itself was one of the key reasons for the refurbishment as it had been dismantled and rebuilt every year for the snooker, and inevitably this had led to a deterioration of the structure. The brand new purpose-built demountable stage now fills its place.
Theatreplan also devised a new electric hoist system to replace the labour-intensive double purchase counterweights. The automated flying system can now be used as part of a show, not just for rigging purposes. The performance lighting in both the main house and the studio were redesigned by Theatreplan with new dimming systems providing more circuits, and a total rewire changed the original 15amp plugs and sockets to modern 16amp IEC versions.
New sound and communication systems including cue lights have been specified by Theatreplan in both the main house and the studio theatre. A 2-channel infra-red assisted listening system in each theatre can be used with the dedicated infra red stethoscope receivers and local induction loops provided by the theatre. The induction loops can be used with all hearing aids fitted with a “T” switch. The assisted listening system was a key part of the new comms system. The dual channel systems provide both assisted listening and simultaneous interpretation where needed. Theatreplan also devised a portable test facility for use at each issuing station to check reception of the infra red receivers.
Mathew Smethurst-Evans, Theatreplan’s sound and technical consultant explained, “We wanted to bring the sound and comms systems up to date, while keeping within the refurbishment budget. But there has been a growing demand for more versatile audio facilities from production directors and designers, and this, added to the pressures due to advances in audio technology, meant that we had to come up with some innovative solutions when designing an installation suitable for both analogue and digital mixing techniques.” The resulting scheme included a comprehensive selection of analogue and digital tie-lines including 48 ways of audio, a 16-way audio bus network, 40 video tie-lines, 30 Ethernet network tie-lines, 34 cue light tie-lines and 24 tie-lines for loudspeakers. Mathew was also responsible for Theatreplan’s specification for the stage managers’ desks. Two identical desks were specified – one for the main house and one for the studio. He said, “The desks are mobile and can be used in their separate theatres or moved between the venues to provide duplicate facilities in more convenient locations during rehearsals, for example.”
The Studio Theatre has been completely refurbished by levelling the floor and incorporating new seating on wagons so that the auditorium becomes a much more flexible and intimate space than before, with the added comfort of new air conditioning and ventilation. Changes to the seating layout have improved sightlines, especially in the upper balcony.
The refurbishment of the studio’s lighting grid during the second phase of building work was complicated by the restricted head height. Mathew concluded, “We took great care over socket box positions and cable containment routing, and were very pleased with the result. The co-ordination worked wonderfully. It is beautiful to see, and also shows one of the benefits of working with the same electrical contractor throughout the project.”
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