Arts - Giving measure for measure

Dec 11 2006 By Rebekah Ashby, The Journal

It's a dramatic redevelopment which involved smashing into a bank and burying a four-tonne vault door under the stage. Rebekah Ashby reports on the curtain going back up at Newcastle's Theatre Royal.

***********

After completing phase one of its extension, the Theatre  Royal, Newcastle, re-opened its doors with a production of the much-loved 1950s musical Grease. The Grade I-listed venue in Grey Street closed last July for three months when its £7m redevelopment project began by extending into the former Barclays Bank, bought in 2003 for £1m.

Builders have extended the stage by 76sq m, enabling the theatre  to accommodate a greater range of productions and a new flying system has been installed to make movement of sets more efficient.

Director of development Richard Berg Rust says: "Phase one is the most complex part of all the work which is taking place. Breaking through the wall to the stage which has stood since 1837 has been very technically challenging, and the metal support posts put in place to prevent any possible collapse were like a work of art. The extension is on the opposite prompt wing space, which will provide storage and increase safety for performers."

The second phase, now under way is scheduled to finish next May.

Phase two involves building a new box office, bistro, reception suite and learning centre. The new centre will provide the Theatre  Royal  with its first dedicated education space, to work with schools and community groups on projects associated with the performances on the stage, such as drama workshops with visiting Royal Shakespeare Company actors.

The three-phase project has been paid for with funding from Newcastle City Council, the Northern Rock Foundation, the Theatre Royal itself and contributions from various trusts and foundations.

That's not just designed to boost takings from the theatre's food offering, but to help build audiences, a key theme for chief executive Philip Bernays.

He says: "We are looking to make the building as accessible as possible and as welcoming as we possibly can. It is an imposing building from the front and this will be breaking down some of the perceived barriers about visiting a building like this and letting people know that it's their theatre and that it's not elitist in any way."

A new corporate space and corporate room is being built to allow companies to hire meeting rooms during the day and entertain clients in the evening.

And phase three will extend this relationship with the commercial world as the Theatre Royal sets aside space for creative businesses. There will be 270sqm of space on two floors, allowing up to 14 cultural companies to set up on the premises.

As well as providing space at non-commercial (or "cultural") rents, the theatre also sees scope for developing partnership projects with some of the fledgling enterprises.

It's a radical step for a theatre, but Mr Bernays sees it as an important move for the Royal and a reflection of the depth of commitment to cultural industries which has characterised the regeneration of the region. "It is important for us to be a player in the cultural scene," he says.

"We are not just here to put on plays at 7.30pm - we are almost a 24-hour organisation. Also, because of our size, our status and our history, we recognise that we are quite an important part of the arts scene and we want to make sure we are giving, participating and contributing in equal measure."