Beatriz Dos Santos (S00802135) - Dissertation

Title: The Nature of Theatre Design

Research Question:
“How does theatre design makes the relationship between actors,
stage and audience?”

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Table of Contents
Introduction

Chapter 1: Half-Moon Theatre

Interior Design and Architecture

Chapter 2: Young Vic Theatre

The building history and location

Interior Design and Architecture

Chapter 3: The National theatre

The building history and location

Interior Design and Architecture

Chapter 4: Comparison

Chapter 5. Conclusion

References

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Introduction

Theatre - The Design history

Approximately all modern theatre design can be understanding as a sketches of the

theatrical traditions established by the Greek-speaking peoples of the Mediterranean

starting in the classical period (6th century BEFORE JESUS CHRIST). Uncertain records of

traditions in the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas before the arrival of Europeans

exists as to the definition of “theatre” in some of these places. However, when on earth

theatre is introduced into a culture, spaces that already exist for the gathering of people

are called into service for its display. Any ideas for theatre design that emerge with the

introduction of theatre into a culture are therefore transformed as they are blended with

the design of these established spaces. For example, Many of the unique elements of

Asian theatre architecture can be perceived as a traditional buildings as kathakali in

India and Noh in Japan. But since the early 20th century, modern Asian theatre

buildings have favoured European models.

The Greek tradition of theatre design passed to the eastern Mediterranean and to as far

as northern India in the Hellenistic Age. It was taken into the western Mediterranean

and central Europe during the period of the Roman Empire and was at the heart of the

revival of theatre design in the Renaissance, at which time it endured its most radical

transformation into the forms that persist today. The new theatre design blowout all over

Europe, In the various colonial periods during the Renaissance Period, then it spread

worldwide and adapted as local own cultures format.

The oldest existing spaces classified as “theatrical area” are in four Minoan palaces on

the island of Crete, Greek. The first theatres are L-shaped, open-air spaces built of

stone with a rectangular stage. The Odeum of Pericles in Athens was the first indoor

theatre, this was a square building with seating along all four walls and a performance

area in the centre. This was a theatre used more often for poetry recitals, music recitals,

political ceremonies, and religious events than for drama. The first great theatrical

construction boom came in the Hellenistic period, when the building of theatres in stone

became one way in which cities competed with one another. During this time the house

became increasingly ornate, but its basic design, and that of the main stage changed

very little.
Lately The Romans built “theatre of Pompey”  on flat ground, using arched

substructures (something the Hellenistic Greeks used only on a small scale). These

substructures allowed the audience to access several levels of corridors that ran

beneath the seating and led to entryways that opened out into the seating area itself. 

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The main objective of the research is to compare the architectural design between Half

Moon Theatre, Young Vic Theatre and the National Theatre with respect to the play,

structure, space and my own experience as strategic approaches and use of space.

The study further highlights the differences in the designs space for the audiences and

the stages as per the needs of the plays displayed in the postmodern era. The study will

conclude by developing the adequate response to the research question that is “How

Young Vic theatre as a postmodern theatre challenges the relationship between space

and audience?”

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Chapter 1: Half-Moon Theatre

The building history and location

The building situated in Alien Street, Aldgate, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets,

was a synagogue hired by Guy Sprung, Michael Irving and Maurice Coulbourne, the

business creators, inspired by sixties culture as an low cost alternative to sheltering the

theatre practice. The name Half- moon came from a close backstreet named - Half

Moon Passage. In the middle decade of 1970’s the London Education authority
instituted the Half-moon Company theatre as young people theatre foundations and

participative theatre in schools as educative inclusive program.

The company initiate its accomplishment and became a fascination of writers and actors

starting working with other art projects sponsorship by Arts Council of Great Britain. By

the late 1970s with the realization of the Company Theatre, Half Moon space was far

too small to housing the popularity achieved. Half -moon business realise its first

triumph based on the production of Brecht's "In the Jungle of Cities" in 1972. By the

audience that the company was attracting, in order to size the demand was found in

Mile End Road a non - occupied chapel that could seat at least 200 people, but later the

company understand that the space was too small to accommodate all activities and

decided for a neighbouring site rear the chapel and a feasibility study to the construction

of a brand new theatre was prearranged with The Architect Bureau. The new building

was intentionally, designed as a flexible theatre that permitting plays to be performed in

many forms it was commissioned to the architect Florian Beigel, in 1980, and in May

1985 the theatre was opening the doors with production of "Sweeney Todd”. (The Half-

Moon Theatre, Royal Holloway Library,2002)

In the middle of decade 1980, the Company starting bringing up the rear its popularity

by the problems raising from bad financial management and also from their artistic

programmes. Their financial grant was critically questioned and postponed into half of

the initial amount. by the other hand and In addition the Conservative Government

policy of the time was self-supporting over and done with own income which was

completely against the half-moon company values of bringing low cost theatre to 'new'

audiences.
Interior Design and Architecture in Half Moon theatre

…./…… .not finished yet

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Chapter 2:

History and location

Location

Map

The building was built in a neighbourhood area of South London named The Cut, which

was previously used for the Sunday Trading in the 19 th century. Bill Howell had

designed the entire building, which took around 5 years to complete at the expense of

approximately £60,000. With the participation of various artistic directors from time to
time, the theatre had continuously remodelled itself with the changing preferences of its

audiences for over tenure of almost 30 years. The architecture and the design of the

structure had brought in newer additions in the form of lobby, backstage spaces and

rehearsal rooms are among the most predominant ones. Factors that influenced David

Lan to choose the site for the construction of the theatre were its appearance, scenic

beauty and other attraction that were likely to enhance the trade aspects of the site.

The design for the theatre as produced by Bill Howell was termed as the ‘thrust‐stage

theatre’ as it had the capacity to accommodate 500 audiences at one go and was

enough spacious. In the initial stage, the building was prepared on a simple

architecture, for it did not have any areas for backstage as well as for the rehearsals.

The infrastructures were also selected to be very simple at the time of the initial

constructions, which allowed them to maintain the best quality service at a

comparatively lower range of ticket. This increased the popularity of the theatre as the

audiences could enjoy a standard performance at an affordable price. These therefore

helped the theatre in sustaining even at the time of recession when almost 16 theatres

in and around London has opted for closure (The Young Vic, 2016; Mirtcheva, 2011).

The Young Vic theatre is an extension of the Old Vic theatre, which forms a significant

part of the postmodern architecture. The Young Vic theatre was started with the

purpose of creating classic plays for the younger generation for their educational

entertainment along with the experimentation of workshops for the new talents in the

fields of actors, producers as well as authors. The architectural design of the building

was largely developed with the implementation of new and innovative strategies that led

towards the creation of new building which helped in attracting attention of the younger
generations. The words of Jean Vilar had greatly influenced the new owner of the

Young Vic, Frank Dunlop with his claim that a time would come when theatre would

become essential for the mankind. The design and the structure of the building Along

with its high quality services at low cost proved successful in attracting the attention of

the people to a large extent. Under the control of David Lan, an artistic director, the

theatre was rebuilt and its exposure was also increased internationally after 2000 (The

Young Vic, 2016).

Interior Design and Architecture in Young Vic theatre

The post modernistic architecture and designing were introduced largely in the

refurbishment procedure of the Young Vic after 30 years since it started its operation.

The initiative for the remodelling of the theatre was taken considering the shortage of

spaces and the impending needs of developing a lobby, backstage, rehearsal space

and ad-hoc structure among the most important requisites. To bring about an increase

in the value of the theatre and match up the tastes of the customers of the modern era,

the theatre building had been artistically transformed complying with the advancement.

Additionally, the requirement of utilising space along with technology has helped in

developing the stage quality consumer’s satisfaction. This renovation incorporated

various factors that include retention of the positive attributes of the previous building,

sticking to the originality, expansion of the building and upgrading the same among the

most prominent ones. The architect, bestowed with the responsibility of the

refurbishment, was Haworth Tompkins, mostly known for his extraordinary talent in

designing the remodelling of the theatres. The change in the architectural designing in
the postmodern era was opted primarily for bringing about an improvisation in the model

and enhances consumer satisfaction (Mirtcheva, 2011)

Picture 00 - Model showing theatre, studios and foyer spaces.

The interior of the building primarily comprised of the main stage area along with the

two separate workshop spaces, which could accommodate 150 and 70 people at a

time. These two spaces are made up of profiled brick with dark textures to create a link

with the main auditorium. This contributed largely to the effective usage of the spaces
so as to present an enjoyable environment for the audiences. The proper vision of the

mezzanine from the ground floor within the stage area of the theatre provides the

audiences with an immense level of proximity with the performers. This area of the

mezzanine is alienated from the terrace with the help of a glazed screen that increases

the pleasure of the audiences to cherish the view of the stages and the performances.

This transition in the view also gets improved for the presence of the mesh on the front

wall of the building. The inclusion of technologies within the building of the Young Vic

theatre was a great step towards catering the needs of the present generation. The

headroom height of the stage area was increased to place technical equipments. The

backstage area was also increased for the positioning of the in-situ gadgets for

improving the spatial arrangement so as to increase the scenic experience that are

cherished by the audiences. For the arrangements within the stage space, mostly

plywood was used to change the stage settings as per the need of the performances.

The seating arrangement for the audiences in front of the stage is also flexible in nature

that is the seats can be positioned and repositioned at any part of the auditorium as per

the needs of the performances and its themes. This flexibility increases the

experimentation and aversion of monotony at every point of time. The uniqueness in

the architecture of lifting and dropping the curtains along with the settings behind them

also creates an intimacy with the audiences with the theatrical spirit of the performances

being staged (Mirtcheva, 2011).

 Picture 00 - Long Sections | Young Vic | Open Buildings

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Chapter 3: The National Theatre

The building history and location

The National Theatre was founded in London in the year 1963 under the support and
space provided by the Old Vic Theatre. After a period of 13 years, the National theatre
had created its new building under the architectural concepts of Denys Lasdun and has
been performing successfully since then. The directorship has been succeeded by
many eminent individuals of London starting from the able leadership of Richard Eyre in
1988, Trevor Nunn in 1997, and Nicholas Hytner in 2003 to Rufus Norris in 2015. The
architecture of the National Theatre was often considered by the people at that point of
time to be a blunder made by the architects, which was even compared to the structure
of a power plant. In the modern scenario, the National Theatre is recognised as a
masterpiece and one of the magnification architecture of the 20th century (National
Theatre, 2016; 1National Theatre, 2016).