LONDON – St. Pauls School, one of England’s leading independent college preparatory schools, dates back to 1509 and is now undergoing a 30-year refurbishment program. The school’s new 280-seat Samuel Pepys Theatre was completed in Nov. 2014. PG Stage worked with Charcoal Blue Theatre Consultants and the Elliott Thomas Group on the project.
More details from PG Stage (www.pgstage.co.uk):
In November 2014 PG Stage completed work on a new, dedicated drama facility as part of a major development program undertaken by one of the country’s leading independent schools, St Paul’s in Barnes. The theatre was designed by Charcoal Blue Theatre Consultants, and PG Stage were appointed by the Elliott Thomas Group to deliver the specification and bring their vision to life, making the new drama department comparable to professional theatre standards.
This impressive new facility now consists of a 250 seat auditorium and four multi-purpose areas that will serve as spaces for teaching, rehearsing and dressing areas for performances, as well as housing the department offices. The new Samuel Pepys Theatre has been designed to cater for both school use and touring companies, and will no doubt become a valuable asset to the community. Its efficient design and professional standards make it the perfect learning environment for drama and technical theatre students.
To fulfil their brief, PG Stage needed to install new equipment – as well as test and replace existing kit – keeping in mind at all times the safety and ease of use for all students and staff using the facility. The department’s current solutions were updated, with internally wired bars and stage lighting placed above a tension wired grid and circle mounted to the balcony front of house.
A motor controlled stage hoist system was installed, as well as a touch screen system for controlling house lights, show blues and worker’s lighting.
New stage tracks and drapes were fitted, along with fixed masking flats, a modular staging system and bespoke facility panels to support a range of performance types. An amplification and processing system was utilized to power the EM Acoustics sound system and, finally, a new technical communication structure was integrated with the existing wireless solution to control the show relay and paging system throughout.
The existing lighting, sound control desks and lantern stock at the school was retained, but PG Stage upgraded the plug tops from 15 to 16 amp and PAT tested all the equipment. An independent HD projection system was also fitted, allowing the space to be used easily as a lecture theatre by other teachers.
St Paul’s Drama Centre marked the opening of the Samuel Pepys Theatre with a Gala Performance on 4th November 2014 which celebrated the school’s rich history.
Speaking about the new facility, Head of Drama Edward Williams said:
‘It is a new beginning, offering the possibility of hosting touring companies in properly equipped facilities, of opening our outstanding productions to a wider audience and of involving our local community in the life of Pauline drama. As we look out of our elegant glass-fronted foyer, the sky really is the limit’.
The project was managed by Paul Holt, and was completed in 16 weeks at an approximate value of £178,000.
Claire is a theatre blogger for PG Stage, specialists in stage lighting and sound installation based in Manchester, UK.
