Theatres. Planning Guidance for Design and Adaptation

240 Pages·1987·21.55 MB·English

by  Roderick Ham (Auth.)

THKTRES
Planning Guidance for Design and Adaptation
Roderick Ham
m»
The Architectural Press: London
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company: New York
First published in 1972 as Theatre Planning
by the Architectural Press, 9 Queen Anne's
Gate, London SW1H 9BY
This edition published 1987
© Association of British Theatre
Technicians, 1987
ISBN 0-442-20497-3
All rights reserved. No part of this work
covered by the copyright hereon may be
reproduced or used in any form or by any
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including photocopying, recording, taping,
or information storage and retrieval
systems—without written permission of the
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Preface
Since the original publication of this data in the most glittering of state balls - no mere tawdry
Architects' Journal'and its enlargement in 1972 into makeshift these occasions. Indeed our own Royal
the standard work on the subject {Theatre Plan- Opera House in Covent Garden, London, owes its
ning, Architectural Press), the world has experi- very survival to the fact that for the major part of
enced a theatre building boom. Inevitably the large each year in the twenties and thirties it readily con-
complexes are the ones that attract the limelight: in verted to and was used as a dance hall.
New York the Lincoln Center; in Berlin the Philhar- If a theatre may find it desirable that it can con-
monie; in London the South Bank complex and vert to other uses, it applies with even more force
the Barbican Centre. All the more important to that concert and other assembly halls will play the
take a close look at the whole range of buildings role of a theatre. As already pointed out, that great
covered by the word "theatre", especially in bugbear of the assembly halls of the past - the flat
Britain at this time when the word conjures up in floor- need no longer be with us. But the inte-
some minds a type of new building which we gration of such systems into new buildings needs
either cannot, or at any rate ought not to, afford. careful planning, and the conversion of existing
A theatre is by original definition "a place for buildings to take such things can demand a touch
viewing" and an auditorium "a place for hearing". of genius only born of experience on the part of the
Put the two together, and any auditorium either is or architect or his consultant. Inevitably, a decision
can become a theatre. The range covered is there- has to be made on which form has the highest pri-
fore enormous, but all such buildings will have ority and this may not always depend on possible
certain principles in common. The most obvious frequency of use, and in consequence some com-
are that the audience must be got in and out safely promise may have to be accepted. A common
and with the minimum of fuss, supervision and problem would be the occasional need for large
direction; and when inside they must be able to see audiences for concerts and musicals, whose
and hear the show well enough to relax and enjoy it. seating then remains empty to haunt even the most
Once that show or any part of it is live, provision has successful of intimate drama. Nevertheless, quite
to be made for its easy get-in and get-out of the apart from the technical means now available to
building; and some of the components may have to separate off empty areas and to adjust the acous-
be "stored" before they are seen by the audience. tics, it can well be that experienced planning of a
This obviously applies to the actors or musicians new auditorium or redecoration and/or some
(hence dressing rooms and green room); what is readjustment of seating areas can make an exist-
less obvious is that it also applies to scenery, even ing place appear half-full rather than half-empty!
when the current show does not need a change of
Frederick Bentham
scene. The best economic use of an auditorium
may well mean that it should not be tied up to a
particular production. Since most live enter-
tainment takes place in the evening, storage to
allow clearance of at least part of the stage so that it
can be used as a platform for other purposes dur-
ing the day is a must, even in the most dedicated of
theatres.
Similarly, out in the auditorium some flexibility in
arrangements, and even the possibility of remov-
ing the seats, is useful. Such flexibility must apply
not only in plan but also in section; in other words it
is a three-dimensional exercise, in order to ensure
that the sightlines from audience to show are not
impaired. In the past decade great advances have
been made in the provision as standard units of
comfortable seating blocks which retract for stor-
age. Whatever the form of removable seating,
provision for its storage or the storage of other
items which may be deployed in the auditorium is
of course essential. Some thought at the planning
stage can make all the difference. A change of
level can turn a simple shove into a herculean
heave; just one step or angle in the wrong place is
all that is required to triple the task and the time to
carry it out.
Multi-purpose flexibility in theatre buildings has a
long history behind it. The stalls level in even the
grandest of opera houses, for example Vienna,
could be floored over level with the stage for the
Introduction to the new edition
This new book on theatres appears at a time when ceived by the audience as one space. Most theatre
in Britain there is great reluctance on the part of companies working in medium-sized theatres work
central and local government to provide any both in their main auditorium and in a smaller
support for the performing arts, and funds for studio, which may take many different forms of
capital investment have been mercilessly axed. A actor-to-audience relationship. The various forms
society which lays claim to being civilised must, co-exist quite comfortably, each with its own
by definition, allot a proportion of its resources to advantages and disadvantages. There is a parallel
patronage of the arts. Even in hard times, during with the Modern Movement in architecture, where
the Second World War, for instance, the need for the theoretical certainties of Le Corbusier, Gropius
people to assemble and enjoy live drama, music and Mies van der Rohe are no longer accepted
and dancing was recognised, encouraged and without question.
supported. It is ironical that in a far more prosper- In this edition less emphasis has been placed in
ous era, when people have much more leisure Chapter 2 on the plan diagrams showing the
time, there is a reaction against such support. The various forms of actor-to-audience relationship.
performing arts will nevertheless survive Instead actual examples, ancient and modern,
impoverishment in the face of official neglect until have been added to illustrate each kind of theatre.
their importance to the community as a whole is Historical precedents have continually inspired
once again realised and policy is changed. new approaches to drama, as in all forms of human
The planning principles, information and advice expression. The diagrams are inclined to convey
in this book, which supersedes Theatre Planning, an over-simplified, two-dimensional, mechanistic
published in 1972, apply to all scales of building view of theatre forms. They are an analytical device
for live performances, from the grand new multi- which is in danger of diverting attention from the
auditoria complexes to conversions and refur- subtleties of the arts of drama and architecture.
bishment of the old. The preoccupation with ingenious mechanicals
In the fifteen years since Theatre Planning there still remains among the designers of theatres, but
have been rapid advances in some areas of theatre the rude mechanicals who have to operate them
technology; but the general principles of theatre are less enchanted. In the last fifteen years there
design have changed little, if at all, and much of have been some notable failures of elaborate
what appeared in that book remains as true today mechanical stages and claims for the success of
as it ever was. In the intervening years we have others which are hard to substantiate. While there
seen a number of interesting new buildings, and has been disillusion with permanent mechanical
London has acquired two multi-auditoria installations there has on the other hand been
complexes: the National Theatre and the Barbican much use of machinery to animate stage sets. A
Centre. It has at last caught up with the Joneses of series of shows, mostly musicals in the West End of
the USA, Canada, Australia and Germany, not to London, have used specially built machinery to
mention numerous small nouveaux riches coun- spectacular effect: Starlight Express, Time, Mutiny
tries and even the Third World. Briefly in the UK the and Chess all depended heavily on displays of
state, nationally and locally, recognised its respon- mechanical ingenuity. When intended to aid the
sibility towards the performing arts and put some stage technical staff, machinery is often less than
capital investment into new buildings. It seems it successful, but when used to astonish an audience
was only a short-lived and reluctant interlude, it seems to fare much better.
because funds are rapidly drying up and the small In the first edition we deliberately avoided dis-
boom in theatre building which has lasted nearly cussion of multi-purpose halls on the grounds that
twenty years is apparently over, in Britain at least. we were concerned with defining the best condi-
The controversy over forms of audience-to-actor tions for performances and that falling short of
relationship which took up much of people's time in these definitions could not be excused by the
the sixties and seventies no longer assumes so building having to be used for other purposes. It is
much importance. It was once easy to put every- still our opinion that, however multi-purpose the
one into a category, from right-wing-equals- hall, it should meet the standards for live perform-
proscenium-theatre through to left-wing-equals- ances outlined in this book. The usual image of the
theatre-in-the-round. The greater the degree of multi-purpose hall is one of woeful inadequacy for
encirclement, the more avant-garde you were con- whatever use it is put to, summed up in the oft-
sidered. Such a simplistic analysis was never very quoted phrase "multi-everything, good for
close to the truth and only survives among students nothing". This is unfortunately true of many halls,
whose library has not been recently updated. It is but it is of course an unfair generalisation, and we
no longer obligatory to subscribe unquestioningly have gone some way to making amends in this
to the theatre-in-the-round lobby to be considered edition. There are many buildings which can per-
progressive. Much of the best work is done in pro- form a range of functions quite satisfactorily, or at
scenium theatres, though now they are seldom least with acceptable compromises. Probably the
used in the old fourth-wall, picture-frame manner. most successful are those that do not attempt to do
One practice that has become widely established absolutely everything that is known or could be
is to make as little use as possible of the stage cur- expected in the future, but limit their ambition to a
tains, so that the stage and auditorium are per- few carefully considered applications. Sometimes
Introduction to the new edition viii
all that is required is foresight by the clients and Provision for video projection and slide projec-
their designers and the necessary technical equip- tion has become increasingly important not only in
ment, as in the case of a concert auditorium which cinemas but especially for conference uses, and
can be used for conferences. Starting off with a this has been added to the chapter on film projec-
conference auditorium and then trying to make it tion (Chapter 14). The chapter on administration
serve for orchestral concerts does not necessarily (20) has been revised and expanded to cover both
work. In general the demands of live perform- small and large enterprises. Chapters have been
ances, both visual and acoustic, are more exacting added on arts centres and studio theatres (22) and
than for any other likely use of the building. conference facilities (23).
There has been rapid technical advance in the As the building of new theatres has waned, inter-
fields of stage lighting and stage sound. In lighting, est in restoring some of the old ones has waxed,
the control systems are now virtually all computer- and Chapter 24 discusses the special problems
memory-controlled, and there have been improve- involved in preserving them and making them suit-
ments in light sources and to some extent in the able for today's theatregoers.
luminaires. Experience has prompted a more The chapter on the comparison of theatres (26)
generous provision of space in the lighting bridges includes a wider range of buildings, many of which
and slots in the redrawn diagrams, and no doubt all have opened since the first edition was published.
those publications which have copied them from They include the National Theatre and the Barbi-
the first edition will amend them to conform to the can Centre in London, the Sydney Opera House
new recommended standard. and the Adelaide Festival Theatre in Australia, and
Sound equipment has developed and prolifer- several concert halls. All theatre plans and sec-
ated vastly in the last ten years and is still tions in Chapters 2 and 26 are at the same scale of
expanding at a dizzy pace. Communications 1:1000.
systems have become far more sophisticated. In
these areas, where electronics make the going, Acknowledgements
there have been significant changes, but in the
more steam-age realm of stage machinery, lifts I have been assisted in writing this book by a sub-
and flying equipment have hardly altered. Over- stantial grant from Glantre Engineering under their
ambitious attempts to extend the scope of tradi- Managing Director, Derek Gilbert, which attracted
tional stage machinery have not met with much a further grant from the Minister for the Arts' Busi-
success. The one innovation which has proved ness Sponsorship Scheme, administered by the
itself particularly useful is the pneumatic castor. Association of Business Sponsorship for the Arts,
New technical developments in the performing and a grant for the purpose from the Arts Council of
arts are likely to be spin-offs from other industries Great Britain to the Association of British Theatre
rather than the result of direct research into pro- Technicians.
jects of a purely theatrical nature. In developing a As with Theatre Planning, members of the ABTT
new car, an aircraft or an engine of war, a great technical committees have contributed their exper-
deal of expensive building of prototypes has to be tise and practical knowledge.
undertaken, but such an investment of time and The chapter on acoustics was vetted by Richard
money would be quite out of proportion to the Cowell of Arup Acoustics; those on safety, exits
limited resources of most of the entertainment and means of escape, seating layout and safety
industry. Without a prototype everything has to regulations, and legislation were updated by R. G.
work first time, and the risk of failure cannot often Cullington (late of the GLC), stage planning by
be afforded by enterprises funded from the hard- Peter Angier, stage lighting by Bob Anderson,
won proceeds of a public appeal or from the sound installations by Bill Graham and the ABTT
vigilantly husbanded local authority rates. The best Sound Committee, communications by Martin
hope for new technology in the theatre lies in the Carr, film projection by Charles Beddow of the
imaginative application of devices and ideas British Film Institute, administration by Richard
already developed for other purposes. York, electrical and mechanical services by Derek
In general this book follows the pattern of Theatre Gilbert and Gareth Davies, conference facilities by
Planning but for greater clarity there have been Derek Gilbert.
some rearrangements in the treatment of the Throughout the editing process Derek Gilbert
technical services. All electrical wiring for stage has given invaluable advice, particularly on techni-
lighting, sound and the general provision for light- cal matters, and Frederick Bentham, besides
ing and power in the building has been taken into writing the preface to this edition, has contributed
the chapter on electrical and mechanical services an overall critical view of the text. Others who have
(Chapter 21 ). The control rooms for lighting, sound offered advice are Roger Fox, Kim Little, Nigel
and stage management, which have much in Jarvis and John Downman.
common, now have a chapter to themselves Stephen Brandes has drawn all the theatre plans
(Chapter 15), and sound and communications and revised the diagrams, and Hedwina Bilton has
have been separated from each other (Chapters handled the typing and duplication.
12 and 13).
Introduction to the first edition
The Association of British Theatre Technicians was efficiently. As more is known about the workings of
formed in March 1961 by a group of enthusiasts, all the proscenium theatre than about open forms it is
professionally connected with the theatre, who inevitable that there are more references to it than
believed that it was time to improve technical to the less orthodox types of theatre, but this does
standards. not indicate an editorial bias in favour of the pro-
There had scarcely been any theatre building in scenium. We have described what there is to des-
Britain for twenty years, continuity was broken, and cribe, and many of the problems examined are
it was no longer just a question of starting again common to all forms of theatre. There remain enter-
from where the matter had been left in the 1930s. tainments and dramatic activities, from tattoos to
The war had accelerated the changes in society; television, which neither need nor askforthe kind of
technology was advancing rapidly; and a re- facilities here examined.
assessment of the problems of theatre planning One subject not covered in this book is the multi-
and design was clearly necessary before a new purpose hall. We have been concerned throughout
generation of building arose. It was already to describe the optimum conditions for housing live
apparent that mistakes were being made out of performances, and these remain the same whether
ignorance of the needs of the performing arts, and the building is labelled "theatre" or "multi-purpose
the ABTT saw that probably its most important task hall". If the process of making a hall multi-purpose
was to examine these needs and make recom- forces compromises and prevents proper condi-
mendations based upon the wide experience of its tions from being obtained, that is not a valid excuse
members in every branch of the theatre. The for applying lower standards. A great deal of inge-
association was a forum where ideas were ex- nuity has been lavished on schemes of adaptability
changed and tested in discussion. Specialist com- and much time and sometimes money spent on
mittees were formed dealing with architecture and mechanical methods of achieving them. The fasci-
planning, materials, publications, safety, sound nation of the gadgetry should not be allowed to
and stage lighting. Each of these committees obscure the shortcomings of the results. In any one
embarked on technical studies, and when the conformation or arrangement an objective assess-
Architects' Journal proposed to publish a series of ment of the result usually shows that it is less satis-
articles on theatres in its programme of design factory than a building specially designed to serve
guides and information sheets, the ABTT took on that particular purpose.
the task of preparing the texts and diagrams. The Flexibility of use remains an important virtue in
first supplements were published at weekly inter- any scheme, but it is not synonymous with
vals in the Architects' Journal in 1964, and a later machinery, as some would have us think. While it is
series followed in 1967. Two thousand additional very simple to phrase a brief which calls for a
sets of articles were bound into paperback building to house banquets, dances, professional
volumes and published as Theatre Planning and theatre, amateur operatics, film shows and jumble
Theatre Planning II. The subject had not been sales all in the same space, if not at the same time,
covered as comprehensively before and there is it is virtually impossible to translate such words into
little doubt that the work had a profound influence a satisfactory solution in terms of building. It has
on those concerned with projects for new theatres. never yet been done successfully, though the
The original issues are now out of print, and the quest has been as obsessive as for the philo-
ABTT decided that a new and completely revised sopher's stone or the elixir of life.
edition should be prepared for publication in book Another school of thought which has ample
form. The Arts Council was approached by Nor- coverage elsewhere, especially in architectural
man Marshall, the ABTT's chairman, and contri- magazines, is the one which demands a covered
buted a generous grant towards the cost of space and a kit of parts which in theory enable it to
research and rewriting of the text, and the Archi- keep its options open until the last moment.
tectural Press undertook to publish the book. Schemes of this nature usually rely heavily on
The shortcomings of the original publications rather speculative technological solutions to the
were mostly due to the magazine form they had to problems encountered along the way, and it would
follow. There was no index and a good deal of repe- not be possible to do justice to them in a book of
tition was inevitable. Some of the articles were only this nature.
of passing interest and others have been super- In a work devoted to the study of the design of
seded. Much of the basic information in the original buildings for housing the performing arts it is well to
work remains the same but all of it has been sound a note of humility and remember that it is
carefully scrutinised and much of it rewritten. The people and not buildings which make theatre.
book sets out to describe the principles and practi- Dramatic magic can be created in the most unlikely
cal considerations which influence the design of places and in utterly unpromising surroundings.
the layout and equipment of buildings to house live Nevertheless, good buildings can give full rein to
performances. The information has been gathered the creativity of those who use them and can
from the experience of those who have to work in enhance the experience of those who come to
such buildings and who have to try to use them watch and listen.
Introduction to the first edition x
Acknowledgements the series of articles by Leslie Knopp and Anthony
Wylson which appeared in the Architects' Journal
The original Architects' Journal series was edited in March, April and May 1967, and the section on
by Leslie Fairweather, the principal authors were heating and ventilating is adapted from an Infor-
Peter Moro, Ian Appleton, Peter Jay and the mation Sheet by Paul Hanson published in the
present editor, and this work has provided a Architects' Journats first series of design guides
sound foundation for the present volume. The on theatres.
editor is indebted to Peter Moro and Frederick The editor is very conscious of how much he has
Bentham for their continual advice and encour- learned from taking part in the deliberations of the
agement on matters both technical and syntacti- ABTT Architecture and Planning Committee,
cal during the two years over which the task of chaired by Peter Moro, which over the last ten
compiling and editing has been spread. years has examined over a hundred schemes for
The chapter on acoustics was originally written new theatres or for the improvement of old ones.
by Henry Humphreys; safety, regulations and The other members of the Architecture and Plan-
legislation are largely the work of Eric Jordan, who ning Committee were: Ian Albery, David Ayliff,
also contributed the section on the comparison of Frederick Bentham, John Bury, Martin Carr,
theatres and all the drawings in that chapter. Stage Douglas Cornelisson, Elidir Davies, Tony Easter-
scenery is adapted from the study by the ABTT brook, John English, Michael Elliott, Eric Jordan,
Materials Committee first published by the Archi- lain Mackintosh, Richard Pilbrow, Ken Smalley and
tects' Journal. The members of the committee of John Wyckham. In the editor's office, Ronald
which the editor was chairman were: Ian Albery, Bayliss, George Finch and David Hancock assis-
Dorothea Alexander, Alan Cohen, Frederick ted with research, the text and the drawings, and
Crooke, Richard Greenough, Bertram Harrison, Sheila Brenchley handled mountains of typing and
Joseph McDougall, Harry Pegg and Edward duplicating.
Tietjen.
The Materials Committee, joined by Peter
Angier, Ethel Langstreth, Ken Smalley, Peter
White-Gaze and Peter Woodham, gave invaluable
assistance with the chapter on stage planning and
with the glossary. Richard Brett contributed a note
on powered flying. The ABTT Lighting Committee
drew up the original recommendations for stage
lighting installations, published in the Architects'
Journal. The members at that time were: Eric
Baker, Frederick Bentham, Charles Bristow, Bill
Bruce, John Bury, Martin Carr, Peter Coe, Elidir
Davies, Joe Davis, David Furse, Barry Griffiths,
Cyril Griffiths, Robert Hall, Margaret Harris, Edward
Hitchman, Peter Jay, Brian Legge, Robert Ornbo,
Richard Pilbrow, Francis Reid, Peter Rice and John
Wyckham.
That document has been completely revised by
the committee, now joined by: Brian Benn, Bill
Besant, E. E. Faraday, Robert Fox and R. G. S.
Anderson, who contributed the section on provid-
ing for television broadcasts from theatres, and
Derek Gilbert, whose notes on memory systems
have been included. Requirements for control
rooms were taken from the ABTT Information Sheet
on the subject by Martin Carr. Sound installation
and communications is adapted from the ABTT
Sound Committee's studies on permanent equip-
ment for theatres, permanent wiring for theatres
and stage management by sound control. The
members of the committee were: David Ayliff, who,
in conjunction with the West End Stage Manage-
ment Association, prepared the material on prompt
corners, Bernard Bibby, Sylvia Carter, David
Collison, Barry Griffiths, Shirley Matthews, Peter
Moore, Roger Spence, Dorothy Tenham and Colin
Wootton.
The basis of the chapter on film projection was
1
Type and size <rf theatre
The word theatre has a diversity of meanings for where, however good the management, a shabby
different people, and while it is neither possible nor old building or a new one with an unwelcoming
even desirable to fit all theatre buildings into rigid atmosphere will deter the public from coming at all.
categories, it will help to consider the various types In the case of teaching theatres and drama stu-
of building at present existing and the way in which dios, seating capacity is of secondary importance.
they differ from or are similar to one another. In this The main purpose is to provide the drama student
chapter we are mainly concerned with purpose- with the feeling of an audience, and seating for
built theatres designed for live performances. betweeen 100 and 300 is usually sufficient.
Factors affecting multi-purpose halls and confer- The universities have built theatres which may be
ence centres are dealt with elsewhere. connected with a drama department, but are more
often used for amateur productions by students.
Seating capacity Professional companies may visit the theatre if it
has suitable facilities, in which case a capacity of
Usually the first characteristic which comes to mind 400 or 500 would be appropriate. Schemes for
is the seating capacity, especially in relation to the university theatres vary a great deal owing partly to
economics of the building. the many purposes they have to serve, but also to a
It is misleading to relate the capital cost of a vagueness of intent leading to ill-considered briefs
theatre to the number of seats without taking into for their architects.
account the many different standards of space, When a theatre is for amateur use, the seating
technical equipment and amenity which different capacity should be considered from a slightly
buildings require for their particular purpose. For different point of view. Most amateur groups can
purely economic reasons it would seem that the count on a limited audience of friends, relations
maximum capacity possible should be aimed at, and others who share their interest in amateur
but for every form of audience to stage relationship, dramatics. If the total potential audience is, say,
there is a limit to the distance of the furthest seat 900 (way above the average for most amateur
from the action beyond which appreciation of the societies), it will be of little satisfaction to amateurs
performance begins to deteriorate. People will no to go to all the trouble of rehearsing and preparing
longer be prepared to buy seats from which they a play for one solitary performance. They would be
cannot see or hear enough to enjoy what is going much happier to fill a 300-seat theatre for three
on. When live theatre was the only form of mass performances or even a 150-seater for six.
entertainment the public would put up with discom- The situation of amateur opera is rather different.
fort and a poor view for want of an alternative, but in There is much greater expense involved in hiring
these days of television and films this is no longer scenery and costumes, and few amateur societies
true. can operate without engaging some professional
The capacity should be derived from the visual orchestral players and principal singers. With a
and acoustic limits for a particular kind of perform- following which is often more numerous than that
ance and the form of auditorium to stage relation- for straight drama (perhaps because the larger
ship. These factors will be discussed later in more cast, the chorus and musicians have more rela-
detail. There will be times when demand for seats tions and friends), amateur opera companies look
outstrips the capacity, for instance on Saturday for a large-capacity auditorium, because the cost
evenings. It would be a mistake, however, to pro- and organisation of a series of performances are
vide a couple of hundred seats for these occasions prohibitive. Their needs are difficult to meet, and
if they remain empty on most other days. Both capi- they are often obliged to play in very unsuitable
tal and running costs would be increased, and premises. The danger is that their insistence on a
empty seats have a depressing effect on both per- larger capacity, which will be used perhaps three
formers and audience. Full houses and difficulty in or four times a year, will distort the brief for a
getting tickets are the best possible advertisement building which will be used all the rest of the time for
and are an incentive for the public to choose the straight drama.
less popular days. There are rare occasions when the total audi-
It has been suggested that seating capacity ence is known within fairly close limits, such as in a
should be related to the size of the town or catch- school or similar institution, but usually the number
ment area in which the theatre is to be situated, but of people who can be persuaded to come is a mat-
this is an unreliable guide. The success of a parti- ter of intelligent guesswork and hope.
cular enterprise depends far more on the vigour of The seating capacity is not the only measure of
the management than the statistics of possible the size of a theatre. The size of the stage, the pro-
theatregoers. Some large towns have the greatest duction facilities to support it and the scale on
difficulty in filling a theatre whereas other quite which the public areas are provided may have
small ones do so very successfully. Management more effect. As a rough guide and to define terms
policy plays the greatest part in the success or used elsewhere in this book, the following defi-
failure of a theatre, but there are many cases nitions are adopted.
Type and size of theatre 3
— Very large 1500 or more seats Size of orchestra
— Large 900-1500 seats
— Medium 500-900 seats Most theatres should make provision for a small
— Small under 500 seats orchestra of about ten to twelve players, though
when the principal use is for drama, there will
Types of production seldom be more than two or three musicians.
A medium orchestra would be up to about forty
There is a wide range of types of production which players, which would be sufficient for most operas
may have to be provided for in a theatre. The brief and ballets. A full orchestra may number 120,
may call for many different activities to be housed which is needed for some operas (e.g. Wagner).
within the same space, and a measure of flexibility
will be essential. However, there is a limit to the Films
degree of adaptability which is possible without
seriously compromising the success of the primary Most theatres should make proper provision for
purpose of the building. A list of priorities of use will projecting films. A building designed first and fore-
have to be made at an early stage. The detailed most as a cinema will not be suitable for live per-
recommendations for the provision of accommo- formances, but films can be shown successfully in
dation for the cast for the various types of perform- buildings whose main purpose is to provide for live
ance are given in Chapter 16. performances.
Drama Other uses - conferences
From a single performer to a large-scale epic such The larger conferences need a purpose-designed
as a Shakespeare history. The average straight building and special business services which are
play seldom has a cast of more than twelve, but it not easy to provide on an occasional basis. For
can be up to twenty, occasionally many more. smaller gatherings, theatres may be able to offer a
competitive service.
Grand opera, full-scale ballet, musicals,
pantomime Pattern of use
These activities often involve singers, dancers and Having decided the range of activities to be
chorus. The style of production and scenery is housed, the next factor to be considered is the pat-
usually spectacular. For the standard classical tern of use. The more intensive this is, the more
repertoire of operas and ballets a proscenium space will be required.
stage form is usually implied, but new productions,
of musicals in particular, are often played on open Multiple use
stages.
This occurs when more than one company has to
Chamber opera, chamber ballet, music hall and be accommodated simultaneously, for example a
variety, cabaret, plays with music children's matinee in the afternoon, a play in the
evening followed by a late-night review. There is an
The cast is not likely to be more numerous than for increasing tendency for theatres to be used in this
straight drama, but proper arrangements must be way, interspersing plays with films and concerts. It
made for musicians. is economically sound to make full use of the
building and where the theatre serves a community
Concerts it is socially sound to provide a wide range of
activities.
A symphony orchestra averages about 90 players,
but may be 120 or more. Repertoire
Chamber concerts including jazz, pop and folk
music will normally be limited to ten or twelve musi- Theatres used by a company which maintains a
cians, but occasionally they may number forty or repertoire of several productions which it may
fifty. change every night and between matinee and
The smallest scale of musical performance is evening performances. Almost all opera houses
recitals, where solo singers and instrumentalists and other major enterprises, such as the National
with an accompanist are concerned. The number Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company,
of performers is seldom more than four or five. play in this way. Such theatres initiate their own
Choral concerts may require space for 200-400 productions and should have their own production
singers, or even more on special occasions, in organisation, preferably on the same site. They
addition to a large orchestra. need space to store the sets for the repertoire and
mechanical aids to help move them about.