Crucible Theatre
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John Donat (website) Download Original
Civic theatre to replace existing Playhouse, with an auditorium to seat 1,000 people arranged on three sides of a thrust stage and separate studio theatre to seat up to 300
At the centre of the building is a 36.6m (120ft) sound-proofed octagon containing the stage, audience and rear stage. The stage level is dictated by the unloading bay and workshop complex.
The audience is seated in one steeply raked bank of seats located a maximum of 18 metres from the centre of the stage. Boxes are provided to integrate the stage rear wall with the auditorium for use by actors, scenery or audience. The stage is accessible between the stage towers or from under the demountable stage, via tunnel entrances.
The principal public entrance into the building is from the forecourt at half level below the auditorium entrance. The entrance area and adjacent Grill Bar are connected to the two other public entrances of the lower foyer, which acts as an internal street and contains the box office, kiosks, cloaks, exhibition area and entrance to the studio and buffet.
The problem of relating the entrances to the building to the main foyer overlooking the Sheaf Valley has induced a spiral movement of the audience which flows around the octagonal form of the auditorium. The interconnected volumes permit the audience to see and be seen. The staircases and entrances divide the foyers to restrict access to various parts and is used for receptions, poetry reading and non-theatre catering.
Data
- Begun: Oct 1969
- Completed: Nov 1971
- Floor area: 62,000m2
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £675,000
- Address: 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: RHWL
- Project architects: Nicholas Thompson, Robin Beynon
- Client: The New Sheffield Theatre Trust Ltd
- Quantity surveyor: Gleeds
- Services consultant: Dale
- Acoustic consultant: Hugh Creighton
- Stage Lighting Consultant: Hugh Creighton
- Theatre Services: Theatre Projects Consultants
- Structural engineer: Arup
- Graphic Designer: Stringer Sutton Paddock
- Theatre Design: Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Suppliers
- Carpets: Clare Ferraby Designs/ Brintons Ltd.