Brook Theatre - Refurbishment and alteration works

The Brook Theatre is a well-used community resource as well as an important local venue for professional touring productions, but as a result the building is looking tired and quite dated in its internal presentation, so a key element of this project is to improve the general presentation of the interior.

There are many limitations presented by the building which restrict the way that the building can be used but also impact on the overall visitor experience. This is primarily in connection with the front of house spaces including limited gathering spaces in the café and bar, toilets, and accessibility.

Key aims for the project include:

• Increase the available front of house space
• Front of house spaces to be more open and fluid
• Create a café with street frontage which would be a destination in itself as well as a co-working space
• Provide opportunities / space to be able to support emerging / developmental companies
• Deal with some of the acoustic limitations of the building which are mainly generated by the audience, especially front of house
• Introduce a digital overlay – infrastructure to use digital backdrops, projection etc in productions
• Consider the impact of the chandeliers in the Main Theatre and if they could be removed since they restrict performances including projection and lighting
• Consider how to introduce more flexible stage lighting infrastructure (such as a grid) within the context of the historic interior
• Provide storage for the auditorium (which could be in the basement if a lift can be extended there)
• Consider improving the access to the stage for performers who are wheelchair users
• Providing air conditioning to the main theatre auditorium
• Reconfiguring the fire exit from the 2nd floor dressing rooms
• Reviewing the fire compartmentation between back stage and auditorium
• Reviewing the use of the storage areas in the basement and the impact on the fire strategy
• Complete refurbishment of all dance and drama studios on the ground and basement floors