This morning we went on a tour behind the scenes at the Mayflower.
It's had a chequered past and narrowly avoided becoming a bingo hall at one time.
It's now owned by the Council and leased to a charitable trust to be run as a theatre for ever.
It's recently been renovated and the interior decoration is beautiful - a rich red colour, with gold embellishments.
We were able to try out all the various seating areas of the auditorium, and then had a tour backstage. This was fascinating - I would have loved to have a go at 'flying' backdrops in and out of the stage! They are all counterbalanced and it sounds as though you need to have your wits about you. One nice little touch - the two "Star" changing rooms are called "East" and "West" to avoid disagreements between ego-driven stars.
The guide described it as a 'presenting' theatre - meaning shows arrive complete with all their own producers, crewe, actors, scenery, lighting and sound systems. The producers also set the price of the tickets.
Some years ago they built three loading bays, and each one will take an Eddie Stobart size lorry. The Lion King arrived with 22 lorries of scenery, lighting, sound systems etc. The guide was saying that when they staged Miss Saigon they had to take just two bricks out of the wall to get the helicopter in.
The theatre is also very community focussed and this week there are local youth choirs and orchestras in. I can just imagine the excitement of the young singers and musicians when they step onto the stage and look out at the audience.
It's had a chequered past and narrowly avoided becoming a bingo hall at one time.
It's now owned by the Council and leased to a charitable trust to be run as a theatre for ever.
It's recently been renovated and the interior decoration is beautiful - a rich red colour, with gold embellishments.
We were able to try out all the various seating areas of the auditorium, and then had a tour backstage. This was fascinating - I would have loved to have a go at 'flying' backdrops in and out of the stage! They are all counterbalanced and it sounds as though you need to have your wits about you. One nice little touch - the two "Star" changing rooms are called "East" and "West" to avoid disagreements between ego-driven stars.
The guide described it as a 'presenting' theatre - meaning shows arrive complete with all their own producers, crewe, actors, scenery, lighting and sound systems. The producers also set the price of the tickets.
Some years ago they built three loading bays, and each one will take an Eddie Stobart size lorry. The Lion King arrived with 22 lorries of scenery, lighting, sound systems etc. The guide was saying that when they staged Miss Saigon they had to take just two bricks out of the wall to get the helicopter in.
The theatre is also very community focussed and this week there are local youth choirs and orchestras in. I can just imagine the excitement of the young singers and musicians when they step onto the stage and look out at the audience.
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