Monday 28 April, and there is a queue outside the box office. This would not be an unusual sight at 7 pm, as the majority of our shows in the past six months have sold very well indeed. However, this is 8 am, the box office isn’t open, and everyone appears to be wearing yellow fluorescent waistcoats. These gentlemen are, of course, the first arrivals from the team of contractors undertaking the theatre refurbishment.
A fantastic number of members turned out yesterday (huge thanks) to clear the auditorium – even the cast and crew of Copenhagen, who only finished their production a few hours earlier and must have been shattered after two performances the previous day. I don’t know about them, but I certainly found it rather eerie standing in a completely bare theatre this morning, knowing that within a matter of hours it would already start looking different.
Dave Rackstraw, project manager from principal contractor Spacetailors, hands a hefty file of plans and instructions to the site manager, Craig, and with that, the theatre more or less belongs to him. Suddenly, there is great activity. By 10 am, scaffolding towers and sheets of plasterboard are being delivered to the workshop and then carried into the auditorium via the ramp and stage.
The first area to be dealt with is the ceiling. The existing fibreboard panels are to be removed, insulation is to be laid between the joints, and then a new ceiling of insulated plaster board panels erected and painted. This will greatly improve heat retention in the auditorium and help deaden sound slightly from the outside world. Nothing can be done at floor level until this work is completed.
A fantastic number of members turned out yesterday (huge thanks) to clear the auditorium – even the cast and crew of Copenhagen, who only finished their production a few hours earlier and must have been shattered after two performances the previous day. I don’t know about them, but I certainly found it rather eerie standing in a completely bare theatre this morning, knowing that within a matter of hours it would already start looking different.
Dave Rackstraw, project manager from principal contractor Spacetailors, hands a hefty file of plans and instructions to the site manager, Craig, and with that, the theatre more or less belongs to him. Suddenly, there is great activity. By 10 am, scaffolding towers and sheets of plasterboard are being delivered to the workshop and then carried into the auditorium via the ramp and stage.
The first area to be dealt with is the ceiling. The existing fibreboard panels are to be removed, insulation is to be laid between the joints, and then a new ceiling of insulated plaster board panels erected and painted. This will greatly improve heat retention in the auditorium and help deaden sound slightly from the outside world. Nothing can be done at floor level until this work is completed.
1 comment:
How about an 'empty auditorium' picture, Paul?
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