Theatre In London

First Grants Announced By Theatres Trust From Its Theatres Protection Fund

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The Royal Court in Liverpool, Sleaford Playhouse, Oldham Coliseum, and Wilton’s Music Hall, the Half Moon Young People’s Theatre and the Soho Theatre in London are the first theatres to benefit from grants awarded by Trust’s new Theatres Protection Fund Small Grants Scheme.
 
The Scheme helps theatres address urgent building repairs, improve their operational viability, introduce environmental improvements, and enhance physical accessibility.

The Grade II Art Deco Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool receives £5,000 towards the replacement of its Safety Curtain.

Soho Theatre receives £5,000 towards the replacement of its front doors to improve the physical access of this major centre for new theatre writing.

The Grade II Georgian Sleaford Playhouse receives £5,000 towards its fenestration project which returns this rare playhouse back to its original Georgian appearance and introduces environmental improvements.

Formerly on the Trust’s Theatre Buildings at Risk Register, the Grade II* Wilton’s Music Hall receives £5,000 towards restoring its orchestra pit and carrying out urgent repairs to the timber floor in the auditorium.

Oldham Coliseum receives £2,500 towards the redesign and replacement of this renowned regional producing and touring theatre’s box office, improving access for disabled patrons.

The Half Moon Young People’s Theatre serving young people in Tower Hamlets, receives £2,000 towards a new lift to improve access between its entrance and foyer.

Rob Dickins CBE, Chairman of The Theatres Trust said, “We are delighted to be able to provide valuable help at a crucial time with these projects and further recipient theatres will be announced in the near future.  This would not have been possible without the wonderful generosity of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and top producer, Judy Craymer.  I hope that more theatre professionals will follow their lead as I really want to be able to widen the level of financial support The Theatres Trust gives to theatres in need.”

The Trust’s Small Grants Scheme opened for applications in May 2012 and received applications for projects totalling £140,000.  The Trust’s Theatres Protection Fund, which funds the Scheme, has received £50,660 to distribute this year – £25,000 from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, £25,000 from Judy Craymer MBE and £660 from a collection by J&C Joel from visitors at PLASA 2012.

Trustees of The Theatres Trust will meet again in December 2012 to consider further awards from the Theatres Protection Fund.

For more details contact Kate Carmichael, kate.carmichael@theatrestrust.org.uk

UK Gold Award: “And the winner is…”

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Reprinted from PR Log: “Theatre Honoured with Top Award for Putting Environmental Issues Centre Stage” May 19, 2010

The Arcola Theatre in Hackney, East London has become the first theatre in the UK to achieve a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

Founded in 2000 the Arcola, in Arcola Street, London E8, is regarded as one of the leading arts venues in the UK. Now, it has become a leading light in the campaign to reduce London’s carbon emissions by 60 per cent before 2025 by investing in series of innovations and and an ongoing project to educate visitors on sustainability.

“We are trying to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre.” said Dr Ben Todd, Executive Director with the Arcola Theatre in London.

“We are in a very old dilapidated building so we’ve done lots of work in house. That’s involved changing our suppliers, turning things off and putting in some fairly advanced technology for demonstrations.

“We are in fact the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered theatre and we’ve done some shows where we’ve run purely on hydrogen. Which in itself isn’t directly green but it helps to persuade lighting designers that they need to seriously cut the amount of lighting they use.

“We’ve managed to put on a theatre show here on five kilowatts which is about 70 per cent less than you would normally use,” said Dr Todd.

GTBS members are assessed on 145 separate measures by qualified advisers before being awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold grading, making it one of the most scrupulous green accreditation schemes in the world.

To achieve a Gold grading from GTBS members have to demonstrate a number of practical measures which have improved energy savings and promoted sustainability.

“The Gold Award for the Arcola is a strong catalyst in greening North East London, including Hackney and surrounding districts,” said Jon Proctor, Technical Director of the GTBS.

“The most progressive areas for the business relate to how they communicate the green message to the community. The theatre hosts monthly green Sundays which are popular and very well designed.

“The Arcola staff have taken a lead on Green tourism in the area having been an excellent advocate of the scheme through presentations and demonstrations and they continue to drive sustainable development through a mix of highly innovative projects such as LED lighting and hydrogen fuel cells as well as simpler products such as a vegetarian restaurant.

“There are still areas for further improvement but the business has tackled all the issues which can be tackled directly and remains an inspiration to the community and the whole industry. As the first theatre in the UK to gain a Gold Award we hope further promotions will follow.”

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The Contingency Plan: Bush Theatre

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Later today I’ll be putting up our own review of Steve Waters’ new double-bill of plays about climate change The Contingency Plan, but in the meantime take theatre critic and environmental blogger’s Robert Butler of the Ashden Directory’s word forf it. These plays, he says, are “terrific”.

If there’s one line I had to choose from The Contingency Plan, Steve Waters’s terrific new double-bill of plays about climate change, now on at the Bush Theatre in London, it’s the moment when Will Paxton (Geoffrey Streatfeild), a young glaciologist, explains the concept of displacement to the new Tory minister for climate change. Having spelled out that ice is ‘basically parked water’, Will warily predicts that the enormous West Antarctic Ice Sheet may well melt (much like the smaller Larsen B ice shelf).

‘But this is thousands of miles from us,’ chuckles the smooth Old Etonian minister (David Bark-Jones), whose schoolfriend, David Cameron, has become prime minister. Will replies with patience, ‘If you pour water in the bath, it doesn’t stay under the tap.’

Read Robert Butler’s review of The Contingency Plan at The Economist’s Intelligent Life.

Read the Ashden Directory blog on The Contingency Plan.

 

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