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Hampstead RenewedDateline: 16th February, 2003It is quite a shock to travel through the Swiss Cottage area of North West London and see the loss of a much-loved friend. The old Hampstead Theatre portacabin was razed to the ground, apparently in little more than half a day. This is a theatre that during its 25 year or so life put on so many wonderful, innovative productions, starting and finishing with Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party. It is now no more than a building site. The replacement Hampstead Theatre is just to the north of the original site. From the outside, there is much glass to see and a great feeling of modernity. The foyer area is very bright and contains a cafe-bar with sofas. The main feature is a curved metal wall reaching from one floor below the entrance through the glass roof into the sky. This spectacular structure looks like the outside of a space capsule. This is the exterior of the theatre space. On entering the main Theatre, one is likely to be struck by its size when compared with its predecessor. No longer will the theatre-going public of Hampstead have to put up with the claustrophobic feel and the tiny stage space. The cushioned red seats are on three separate levels, including a mezzanine, which allows a capacity of up to 325 depending upon production design. They form a semi-circle and despite the much larger area, no seat is very far from the stage. There are liable to be quibbles from those with long legs who are advised to book a seat in the front row for any long show. Otherwise, it is perfectly comfortable and very attractively designed. That is one of the advantages that having £15 million of lottery aided funding will ensure. New artistic director Anthony Clark must be drooling at the opportunity to work in what is now a large comfortable space with all of the modern accoutrements that directors expect to see. In addition to the main theatre, there is also an area known as The Space that is both a flexible theatre and a workshop. This is beneath the main stage and should allow actors great rehearsal opportunities as well as providing a studio theatre for small productions. Hampstead follows the Royal Court and Soho amongst others in creating a new modern, exciting design and is likely to prove extremely popular as it continues to put on new writing often by well-known names. In its first season, it has plays by Tim Firth, Tanika Gupta, Debbie Tucker Green and Stephen Adly Guirgis with directors as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn and Kathy Burke. While its many devotees will greatly miss the old Hampstead, there is little doubt that the space-age new Hampstead will become one of the major centres for new writing in London. Whether it can recreate the intimate feel of the portacabin that seemed as if it would last forever remains to be seen but current artistic director, Jenny Topper believes that it will. Topper has high hopes for the new building "This is a building of colour, light, ideas and a fresh energy. It's built for people: a dramatic building on a human scale. A building that welcomes and excites". How could anyone resist a build up like that? Philip Fisher Articles Indices: |
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