Nottingham Playhouse

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The Nottingham Playhouse on Wellington Place in Nottingham, 2006

The Nottingham Playhouse is a theater in the English city of Nottingham that was founded in 1948. The theater building is listed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest with Grade II *.

history

The former Nottingham Playhouse on Goldsmith Street

The theater was founded in 1948 as a repertoire theater . The performances initially took place in a former cinema on Goldsmith Street. The first directors were Val Nay and Frank Dunlop (* 1927). Due to the dilapidation of the house, a new building was planned at Wellington Circus. In 1963 the theater, designed by Peter Moro (1911-1998), opened with a production of Shakespeare's drama Coriolanus . Under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie , u. a. John Neville (title role), Leo McKern (Menenius) and Ian McKellen (Tullius Aufidius). In 1965 it received the Civic Trust Award. In 2004 the house was extensively renovated and refurnished with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In 2014/15 the house underwent a comprehensive renovation with a focus on energy saving. The thermal insulation of the house including the stage tower was improved, double glazing and solar systems were installed. The Arts Council England, the City of Nottingham and private donors such as the patron of the City of Nottingham and philanthropist Harry Djanogly participated in the funding.

The Sky Mirror by Anish Kapoor in front of the Nottingham Playhouse

Sky Mirror

In 1995 the Nottingham Playhouse commissioned Indian artist Anish Kapoor to install a sculpture for the outside of the theater. Sky Mirror (= sky mirror ) is a concave mirror made of stainless steel with a diameter of 6 meters and a weight of around 10 tons. The steel strip , which was made in Great Britain, has been worked in Finland using a cold forging process and received its final polish in Wellingborough , which enables the perfect mirror effect. 140 cubic meters of concrete and 10 tons of reinforcing steel were used for the area on which the mirror is installed . Sky Mirror was inaugurated in 2001 with great public interest.

On its surface it shows a constantly changing image of the sky and the urban landscape in which it is installed, but which is upside down. Sky Mirror was the first such sculpture created by Kapoor and which was to be followed by other variants.

Web links

Commons : Nottingham Playhouse  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Sky Mirror  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Nottingham Playhouse A Grade II * Listed Building in Nottingham British listed buildings, accessed February 29, 2020
  2. 50 years at Nottingham Playhouse: The Sixties , Nottingham Playhouse, accessed February 29, 2020
  3. Britain. Peter Murray, Stephen Trombley. Architecture Design and Technology Press, 1990. ISBN 978-1854540539
  4. Sky Mirror , accessed March 2, 2020
  5. Anish Kapoor Artworks, British-Indian Sculptor, Painter, and Installation Artist , The Art Story, accessed March 3, 2020