Nick Thompson & Clare Ferraby Interview: 1975 - The Theatre Royal in Crisis
Title
Nick Thompson & Clare Ferraby Interview: 1975 - The Theatre Royal in Crisis
Date
18 May 2018
Description
Oral history interview with Nick Thompson and Clare Ferraby, architect and designer of the refurbished Theatre Royal in 1977.
What's the story?
Clare Ferraby started as a freelance designer in London in 1963 when she was 25, and married Nicholas Thompson, a young architect, who went on to become a leading light of the theatre architects’ practice RHWL three years later.
RHWL were commissioned to oversee the rebuilding of the Theatre Royal in the 1970s, following the success of projects at Sheffield Crucible and Warwick Arts Centre.
In a recent interview for The Stage Clare spoke of her craft:
“I’ve always looked at the history of the theatres I’ve worked on. It is important for me to have a feeling for the soul of the building before I develop new ideas. Every theatre has its own distinctive soul. With the older buildings, I look at the detail to understand the original designer’s intention.
The great Victorian theatre architects Matcham, Sprague and Phipps wanted to get everything right and I understand that. You want everything to fall into place and fit together, like a painting.”
As part of the Theatre Royal’s heritage work Nick Thompson & Clare Ferraby have kindly loaned us items from their private collection revealing their work on the Theatre Royal, which can be found elsewhere on this site.
In this interview Nick and Clare talk about 1975 and the crisis that the Theatre Royal and the City Council was in due to the theatre’s “awful” conditions and the refusal by many theatre companies to come to Nottingham.
Nick: They came to us at a crisis. That the major companies had been very good in coming to the Theatre Royal and so you had English National Opera and ballet and great companies. This building was so awful in the accommodation for the performers in particular, that they said we’re not coming any more. And Nottingham was faced with a huge problem that they really were not going to be an important theatre any more. It was going to go off the circuit, off the touring circuit.
And so the Arts Council became involved. Lord Harwood became involved, Chairman of English National Opera, and they came together and spent £5,000 one year putting terrapin huts on the car park because there was no accommodation for the performers. And it was a nightmare. And that was the moment that Nottingham City Council were faced with the fact they were going to lose their great facility. And so there was a lot of discussion and Nottingham decided to buy it, take it on and do it. And in conjunction with the Arts Council, they then selected us to provide a feasibility study. And the feasibility study was for a Festival Hall, so that was the core of the animal. It was going to be a big baby. And in our initial deliberations, with a lot of input from big authorities around the country we went to, we said “2,000 seat concert hall, a 400 seat community flat floored hall and we’ve got to revamp that theatre and make it work again. So that was 1975.
RHWL were commissioned to oversee the rebuilding of the Theatre Royal in the 1970s, following the success of projects at Sheffield Crucible and Warwick Arts Centre.
In a recent interview for The Stage Clare spoke of her craft:
“I’ve always looked at the history of the theatres I’ve worked on. It is important for me to have a feeling for the soul of the building before I develop new ideas. Every theatre has its own distinctive soul. With the older buildings, I look at the detail to understand the original designer’s intention.
The great Victorian theatre architects Matcham, Sprague and Phipps wanted to get everything right and I understand that. You want everything to fall into place and fit together, like a painting.”
As part of the Theatre Royal’s heritage work Nick Thompson & Clare Ferraby have kindly loaned us items from their private collection revealing their work on the Theatre Royal, which can be found elsewhere on this site.
In this interview Nick and Clare talk about 1975 and the crisis that the Theatre Royal and the City Council was in due to the theatre’s “awful” conditions and the refusal by many theatre companies to come to Nottingham.
Nick: They came to us at a crisis. That the major companies had been very good in coming to the Theatre Royal and so you had English National Opera and ballet and great companies. This building was so awful in the accommodation for the performers in particular, that they said we’re not coming any more. And Nottingham was faced with a huge problem that they really were not going to be an important theatre any more. It was going to go off the circuit, off the touring circuit.
And so the Arts Council became involved. Lord Harwood became involved, Chairman of English National Opera, and they came together and spent £5,000 one year putting terrapin huts on the car park because there was no accommodation for the performers. And it was a nightmare. And that was the moment that Nottingham City Council were faced with the fact they were going to lose their great facility. And so there was a lot of discussion and Nottingham decided to buy it, take it on and do it. And in conjunction with the Arts Council, they then selected us to provide a feasibility study. And the feasibility study was for a Festival Hall, so that was the core of the animal. It was going to be a big baby. And in our initial deliberations, with a lot of input from big authorities around the country we went to, we said “2,000 seat concert hall, a 400 seat community flat floored hall and we’ve got to revamp that theatre and make it work again. So that was 1975.
Type
Oral interview
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Interviewers: Stephen Bray & Liz Mackenzie
Transcriber: David Chilton
Transcriber: David Chilton
