This is the seventh in my series of articles about the plans for the Pavilion. This part, and the eighth talk, is about the Ballroom. It is central to the project and is therefore one which requires a significant amount of time devoted to it.
Firstly we wanted a theatre with around 400 seats. There is no Theatre near Matlock Bath of this size. You have to go to Buxton, Chesterfield or Derby to find a venue of this size or greater. There are however a number of venues that can cater for around 200; Ashover Village Hall, the Whitworth Centre and Highfields School all boast a hall of around this size. None fill the gap that exists for a larger hall.
Secondly we wanted to produce a proper theatre; everyone must have a good view of the stage. If all the seating was flat on the ballroom floor, however, the seats at the back of the Ballroom would not get a clear view of the stage. Clearly with a narrow Proscenium Arch there will be some seats at the front that will not be able to see all of the back of the stage, these would be few in number.
We also wanted people to enter the theatre from the top and walk down to their seats. We did not want a theatre that “felt” like a lecture theatre!
Thirdly we had to have a proper theatre stage and the dressing room facilities below that the Pavilion offers. As a result we have limited the use this space to a limited number of alternative uses.
Fourthly we had to cater for the legal requirements. There need to be at least two exits accessible to all the visitors in the hall. There needs to be full disabled assess and safe zones in the event of fire.
There need to be enough toilets; the rules state that 60% of a theatre audience are women and that there should be one loo for every 20 women plus one. That gives twelve womens’ loos! The requirement for non Theatre is much lower (one for every 50 plus two).
Finally we wanted a flexible space, but more about that in part 8.
The design we have come up with is one which has two corridors down from the entrances at the top. The first five rows of seats are on a balcony, about which I have already spoken in part 4. The following nine rows are all on movable seats (more about that in part 8). All of these seats will be at an angle to ensure a good view of the stage. The top seat will be around 11 feet higher than the ballroom floor level.
The five front rows, and another half row, would be movable allowing access to the fire exits and, if a larger stage is needed, some of these rows can be removed. Additionally, if 400 seats are not needed, the front area can be left open.
The seating would be proper cushioned theatre seats with armrests but probably not quite the quality that you would get in a top quality cinema. This compromise is in order to get the greatest number of seats in the theatre and, to have a flexible use for the space, some of the seats will have to be movable and others will have to fold away.
The windows would have sound-proof shutters that can be opened when the theatre is being used during the daytime. The walls would have heat insulation, which would also assist in keeping sound in the hall.
The big change from the nightclub would be in the roof space. We would re-open it as in the attached picture and create a mechanism that will shut out light from the lantern, when complete darkness is required.
The theatre will therefore have a great feeling of space, deriving from its height, so even with 400 people inside it will feel spacious.
The wonderful Proscenium Arch (pictured) will be exposed, repaired and shown in all its glory – it will become a great feature of the restored theatre.
The type of theatre we can offer is not going to be universal, we cannot cater for large theatre touring companies, but with only 400 seats on offer we cannot get enough income to pay their costs. We will be able to offer theatre in the following formats:
• Small touring company performances, e.g. those with limited numbers on-stage at any one time. • Local amateur theatre companies. • School theatre, where they need a larger venue to fit everyone in. • Comedy nights and other one man / woman acts.
This will give a tremendous range of theatre opportunities for people in an area covering most of both Derbyshire Dales and Amber Valley.
I like the ideas listed for restoring the Pavilion and especially making the ballroom multifunctional in order to maximise on its versatility. The more uses the building has for the community and visitors then the more likely it is to succeed, elementary! My daughter is helping to restore a museum in in a far northern seaside town and as a 'Muralist' has become involved with the local theatre group to put on an L.S.Lowry show. This was a big success as part of the town's summer festival.
ReplyDeleteMatlock could have its own small theatre group and put on a Victorian show at the restored pavilion with costumed characters also parading along the riverside park as a summer advertising feature. There are so many ways to make Matlock Bath truly sparkle again and not just for the riverside illuminations but throughout the summer with historical plays and entertainment. I once took my young family to Blackpool and suffered a big disappointment with the illuminations but coming back to Matlock Bath illuminations we felt we had so much better value and for much less cost! A costumed Victorian Christmas Market could be a big money earner, think of Lincoln's success. And of course you have that great innovator and public benefactor Richard Arkwright. An annual theatre play based on his life and work would draw in hundreds if not thousands of visitors.
Matlock Bath is a sleeping giant and it's time it punched it's full weight!
Harry Riley Eastwood Nottingham
Email: harry@harryspen.co.uk
W: www.harryspen.co.uk
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