The ADC Theatre closes for refurbishment

“On Sunday 30th March at around 11pm, the ADC Theatre in its current incarnation closed its doors for the last time.

“During that busy ‘Wordfest’ weekend, including sold-out talks by Dave Gorman and Janet Street-Porter, there had been little time for quiet reflection on the momentousness of what was about to happen. Seven years of fundraising in order to ‘restore and rejuvinate the theatre for the 21st century’ had culminated in an incredible £2.1 million raised, thanks to the kindness of the University, College charitable foundations and our alumni.

“Neither was there the opportunity for quiet reflection the next day, as the drilling continued in earnest. To ensure that the building would be ready to reopen in October, it had been decided that building work, starting with the workshop floor, should commence in the second week of March.

“The only delaying factor in this case (and an important one at that) was the final student show of term - Sondheim’s ‘Into The Woods’. The show’s design required a large collection of bookcases and bespoke trees, and taking the workshop away would have been less than helpful. So while the master carpenter and crew went innocently about their business, the builders and, in particular, Peter Tovey, the ADC’s tireless technical manager, were biding their time in the shadows, sledgehammers at the ready.

“Finally, on the 12th March, when all were certain that the bookcases making up Rapunzel’s Tower were structurally sound, a clearing of the workshop began. Then, on Easter Monday, the dressing rooms were cleared of ancient costumes, old publicity material, and lost property.

“Phase 2b was under way.

Phase 2b

“‘Phase 2b’ is an understated title for the most important changes to take place at the theatre since the disastrous fire of 1933 and the subsequent rebuilding in 1935.

“The Theatre’s redevelopment project has been split into several phases to prevent any long-term closures. The previous four phases of building work concentrated on giving the theatre a glossy and professional exterior, whereas ‘Phase 2b’ really gets to grips with the inside workings of the theatre.

“The ‘Preliminary Phase’ in 2000 saw the redevelopment of the bar, which since then has gone from strength to strength, housing a range of increasingly impressive shows such as Musical Theatre bar nights, live bands, and Footlights Smokers, and reaching a range of drink choices which take it beyond that of a mere theatre bar, while retaining low prices.

“The ‘Enabling Work’, known as ‘Phase 1a’, took place in 2003 and strengthened the foundations of the building, as well as moving water and power to more useful and accessible parts of the theatre. More of this type of work has taken place over the last month in order to improve accessibility and, crucially, in order to enable the implementation of subsequent, more visible phases.

“‘Phase 1b’ (2004), and ‘Phase 2a’ (2005) gave the foyer, theatre facade, loos and backstage office areas a much-needed facelift, while installing disabled access, a bar extension and larger sound and lighting control rooms. These gave the ADC, from an audience perspective, a more comfortable and professional feel, suitable for such an ambitious and historic theatre. The enlarged entrance foyer meant that audience no longer have to queue in the street at night for the box office, and the new ‘prompt side’ corridor gave not only more light to the bar with the addition of a conservatory style bar extension and bar ‘terrace’ (particularly lovely in the summer), but also facilitates movement during the interval, or between the end of the mainshow at around 10.30pm, and the start of a lateshow just 30 minutes later.

“However, brilliant as these changes were, they did little to touch upon the backstage areas of the theatre; the very heart of the building that the students, the management team, and the professional companies that use the theatre occupy daily for 40 weeks of the year.

The scope of this summer’s work

The Rehearsal Room

“For a variety of reasons, there are simply not enough suitable rehearsal spaces in Cambridge that can be booked easily, for free, and at short notice, or that are even designed for the purposes of an active rehearsal. ADC shows, of which there are two a week, tend to begin rehearsals a month in advance, and rehearse two or three weeknights plus weekends. This means that on any given night during term time there would be five ADC shows in simultaneous rehearsal, as well as a similar number of Corpus Playroom shows, college and English Faculty productions. This does not take into account auditions and recalls taking place in the afternoon and evenings for future shows, nor the hundreds of room bookings for those with extra-curricular activities besides drama in Cambridge, such as the university dance societies, CUMS, and indoor sports such as Tae Kwon-Do.

“The ADC bar and dressing rooms have provided temporary relief for these frantic room searches over the last few years. However, they are far from ideal – too small and crowded with chairs and tables to be substantial- and needed for their original purpose from the early evening onwards.

“The new rehearsal space will contain a new sound system, floor length curtains around the entire edge of the room to change the nature of the space, a good floor for dancing, a piano, and lighting bars for ultimate flexibility of purpose. Open it up and turn the lights on full, you’ve got a perfect airy space for a large cast warm up and movement rehearsal; curtain it off, set some chairs up and put the spotlight on, and there’s a brand new studio space perfect for talks or one-man shows. It will also be soundproofed, so evening rehearsals can continue once the mainshow has started.

The Dressing Rooms

“The old dressing rooms (now demolished) had drafts, stained sinks, and holes in the walls. In addition, the loos were cold, often blocked and so echoey that the flushing could be heard from backstage. The new dressing rooms will feature showers and brand-new loos, and will be clean, simple, mirrored, and designed to last. We will also be installing brand new washing machines and tumble dryers for costumes and to keep the classic ADC front of house polo shirts looking their best.

The new Green Room

“The Green Room will be built in a space between the two downstairs dressing rooms, to allow actors a place to wait comfortably for their scenes rather than standing in the wings.

The Workshop

“The new workshop will be much the same size as the previous one, but will be placed far more usefully within the theatre. In addition, a large structural pillar in the centre of the room that has inconvenienced student carpenters (if not deterred them) will no longer be a problem as it will become part of a new dividing wall. The old workshop was also accessible only from the interior administration corridor or by walking through the scene dock. The new one will boast massively improved dust extraction, renewed equipment, and access to both the Scene Dock and the Theatre Yard.

Wing Space

“A disused chimney breast has been removed to open up this useful space in the stage left wing, and the stairs are to be repositioned to give an even bigger backstage area for scenery storage.

Access for All

“While Phase 2a saw the introduction of disabled toilets and the lift, which allows both those with limited mobility to work from the sound and lighting boxes and for disabled audience members to access the auditoriu
m, the installation of a platform lift up to the stage area will make the stage wheelchair accessible for the first time in the theatre’s history.

Auditorium Seating

“At present the auditorium seating is gently sloped from rows A through I, and then stepped from Row J to P to give a steeper incline, meaning that from the sixth to the tenth row, the view over people’s heads is not clear, and impossible for younger or shorter theatergoers. Originally, the slope which still exists in the front section of the auditorium went all the way back to the final row, and the steps which were introduced in the 1980s improved visibility, but not completely. The plan for this year is to step the seating from Row A all the way to Row P, to give a perfect view wherever you choose to sit.

Stage floor

“The Theatre is getting a traditional wooden stage floor rather than the black lino covering over ply that has been in place for past several decades.

“A frequently updated photo-album for the Phase 2b work can be found at http://www.adctheatre.com/redevphotos.asp

“Rather than just giving an even more enjoyable theatre experience to the current audience and theatrically inclined students, these improvements will also allow the theatre to undertake more ambitious projects technically, and to attract the highest caliber of touring shows out of term time, to ensure that the theatre’s image and the quality of work it houses continue to go from strength to strength."

The Refurbisment Project is being managed by the University's Estate Management and Building Service and the contractor is Marriott Construction. Lead architect is Barry Brown of Bland, Brown and Cole, who is a former member of the Cambridge Footlights.