The second phase of the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham’s Royal Transformation Project will go ahead this summer, transforming the venue in to an all-day destination, with food and drink available every day from breakfast until midnight.
The construction and refurbishment work taking place during August and September 2017 will include:
· Complete remodelling of the Theatre Royal’s ground floor café bar and upper floor roof terraces, offering an all-day menu, every day, in a unique location;
· Refurbishing the Royal Concert Hall bars and function rooms;
· Transformation of the streetscape on South Sherwood Street by creating a striking two-storey canopy and a new entrance way to both the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall;
· Creating a new street-level outdoor seating area under cover of the new canopy on South Sherwood Street.
Robert Sanderson, the venue’s Managing Director, has been the driving force behind the project since 2014. He says the reasons for undertaking the project are very simple: “Firstly, we want to show these two beautiful buildings off to people during the day. We want people to think ‘I could just pop in for a cup of tea’ and we’ll expect no more of them. They will be able to meet here for croissants in the morning, for lunch, afternoon tea, and for cocktails in the evening.
Secondly, we have to remember that 3.2 million people go past our doors on South Sherwood Street every year. The new canopy will rise up out of the pavement over the first floor roof terrace to create a real sense of space and a real buzz. We are creating a new front door, bringing in the terraces and outdoor spaces, and vastly improving our daytime catering offer. If that brings more people into the building during the day that’s a major win.
Thirdly, by opening up spaces which are currently underused we’ll be making the most of our potential and generating new income streams.”
In addition to these major redevelopments, improvements will be made to increase disabled access backstage and to encourage more community and business use. These include:
· Modernising and refurbishing the Royal Concert Hall’s function spaces and meeting rooms for businesses to use during the day;
· Creating an accessible, multi-purpose rehearsal space to provide opportunities for more community arts groups to use the venue;
· Improving disabled access and facilities to stage door, backstage and dressing room areas in both venues.
Building work will start in June with hoardings being erected around the South Sherwood Street site, opposite The Cornerhouse entertainment complex. The majority of the building work is scheduled to happen during the venue’s quietest period in August and September, ready for completion in early October at the start of the autumn season.
Ticket sales will continue throughout the period of work. The box office counter will be temporarily relocated to the Theatre Royal foyer from Monday 24 July until Tuesday 3 October. Customers can contact the box office by calling 0115 989 5555 or visiting the counter in person as normal from Monday to Saturday 9am-8.30pm. Online booking and show information will be available on the venue’s website www.trch.co.uk.
Follow the progress of these exciting developments on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram @RoyalNottingham or via website www.trch.co.uk/news
