THEATRE REFURBISHMENT
The refurbishment and technical fit-out of The Crucible, Sheffield.
CLIENTTheatreplan Consultants
EVENTTheatre refurbishment
VENUEThe Crucible, Sheffield
HAWTHORN'S SOLUTION
Hawthorn has recently completed the Phase 2 refurbishment and technical fit-out of The Crucible in Sheffield.
As The Crucible was awarded Grade II listed status by English Heritage as a building of architectural and historic importance in 2008, Hawthorn's in-house installation team had to ensure that the fittings used were not only in keeping with the period of the theatre, but also state of the art and energy efficient at the same time.
Undertaking the installation of new dimmers and technical infrastructure to the Studio Theatre and the expansion of the paging system, Hawthorn's installation team, working closely with Theatreplan consultants, undertook a 12-week installation programme completing the work ahead of schedule and within budget.
Replacing the old Strand dimmers, Hawthorn provided 170 ways of new ETC Sensor dimming along with a new DMX and Network infrastructure. A new ETC Unison Paradigm control and dimmer system was provided to control the house and working lights, with control being provided from the lighting desk, new colour Paradigm touch screens and localised control stations.
A new audio infrastructure was installed providing extensive microphone tie lines, along with speaker and data patching and a new Sennheiser infra-red system with show relay facilities and both colour and low light CCTV. A new prompt desk was provided for the studio, designed in collaboration with GDS, which could be moved to, and used in, the main house as well when required.
A major part of the work was the expansion of the paging system installed as part of Phase 1. Re-designed and overseen by Hawthorn's head of sound, Iain Reinhold, the installation consisted of nearly one hundred 100 volt line speakers, eight zones of paging, expansion and reprogramming of the paging processor and an extensive cable infrastructure.
Hawthorn's head of installs, Alan Jackson, commented: "The Crucible is a great venue and we were delighted to be involved in its renovation and the great opportunity to work with consultants Theatreplan". Clive Odom of Theatreplan said: "It has been a pleasure working with Hawthorns and we look forward to the next job!"