As part of our research for The Park Theatre, we have been visiting a significant number of theatres for backstage tours as well as shows. Continuing our research for the smaller Studio Space, we have recently been to see some smaller Fringe venues. Last week Jez and I went to see a play at the Network Theatre, under Waterloo Station to see ‘Stockholm’ by Bryony Lavery – 2 actors, 60 minutes, no interval, very uncomfortable seats. The play was okay; really nice set design, good performances and good lighting design.
The Network Theatre is an amateur company, originally founded as the Southern Railway Dramatic Society (SRDS) in 1939. They receive no grants or subsidies, and are located in a railway arch, off a service road, in a difficult to find tunnel by the side of Waterloo Station. The theatre can hold up to 70 people and there were about 20 people in attendance and judging by the list of names on the door, I would say only half of us were paying so at £8 per ticket that’s maybe £80 for the night. Jez tells me that is fairly usual for a fringe performance. The entrance leads into the main auditorium space. The bar leads off that as well as the toilets. The bar had a few trendy theatre types in it and a bottle of lager was £2.50, so not much mark up at all. I don’t think they are making any extra cash from the bar!
What struck me most – and I have seen this in other small venues – was that the space all felt a bit unfriendly and lacking in atmosphere. The auditorium was, I can only assume, ‘flexible’. It was arranged as an end on stage and quite narrow so the layout and rake of the seats (to get the 70 seats in) was such that the back seats were 9 rows from the stage – at least 8.5m from the action. Surely an arrangement of 50 or 60 seats, but with a greater intimacy and thought, would be preferable, particularly in a small fringe venue like this? The bar had the most unwelcoming, bland lighting imaginable; it really felt quite awful and draining.
I’ve come across several small venues that feel ill-considered, lack spatial legibility, are shabby and cheap or, worse still, boring. I genuinely believe that they don’t have to be. It’s a lack of a cohesive design or an understanding of ‘space’ in the wider sense of design – what they all do brilliantly is the stage bit, the theatrical bit, but it’s the actual building that lets them down.
What’s interesting to me is that none of these things are related to cost or expenditure, they are simply related to a lack of knowledge and experience in architectural / interior design, lighting, atmosphere etc outside of stage set design. I am in no way criticising the Network Theatre, or any other small venue – these guys are simply trying to do their best. What I’m trying to understand is how we can get theatre managers, owners, and artistic directors to ask for advice, or where can they go to get good advice, that will be free or at the very least very cheap – advice that will lift a mundane space into an interesting space.
We recently went on a tour of many bars in Clerkenwell, Shoreditch and then Crouch End and Finsbury Park to do research for the bar at The Park Theatre. What all of these spaces had, even if you didn’t particularly like them, was a sense of atmosphere and a depth of thought about how the different elements fit together. From the front door handle, to the colour of the walls, to the bar top finish, to the lighting, it all hung together to create a sense of place, over and above the atmosphere created by the people. What I’m trying to understand is why theatres, particularly fringe theatres, seem to either believe that it doesn’t matter what the building or space is like or don’t know how to achieve something better.
Each year the charity Shelter runs an event called ‘Architect in the House’ where home owners receive a one hour consultation from an architect (who puts in their time for free) in return for a donation to Shelter, normally £40. I’m beginning to think that we should somehow have a similar ‘Architect in the Fringe Venue’ event where we go in for an hour or so and have a nose around and just see if there are simple, little, cost effective things we can do to make these spaces work better and make them feel more welcoming.
As a newcomer to theatre, and as a practice that cares about experiences, I think that all venues, from the fringe venues to the West End have to create places that people want to visit, that they want to enjoy. Surely a trip to the theatre needs to be about more than just the play?
Our planning application for the Park Theatre is currently undergoing the statutory planning consultation period. So far the feedback has been extremely positive and we are very pleased that
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