Northampton’s Royal and Derngate has been awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £47,600 for conservation work on its safety curtain.
The highly decorated curtain has been in constant use in the Royal Theatre for more than 40 years. Specialist art conservators are cleaning the surface of the curtain and repairing damage so it will be preserved for future audiences.
The curtain was completed in 1978 by artist Sir Henry Bird who lived and worked in Northampton until his death in 2000. The elaborate design includes figures from classical mythology and the early history of theatre, all painted in the artist’s trademark flamboyant style.
Portraits that border the curtain include Northampton Repertory Company actors Errol Flynn and Freda Jackson, who was married to Bird, builder Henry Martin, actor-manager Lionel Hamilton, designer Tom Osborne-Robinson and barman Denis Richards.
In an associated community project, the theatre’s creative learning team has worked with digital artist Chris Lowe and Red Bear Media to develop an interactive web site for primary schools which provides additional classroom resources linked to the safety curtain.
Commenting on the conservation project, the theatre’s chief executive Jo Gordon said, “we take our role as custodians of this gorgeous theatre very seriously, so we’e delighted to see the work taking place to conserve Sir Henry Bird’s masterpiece.
“At the same time it’s wonderful to have the chance to inspire young people to engage with the theatre and its history and to think about creative roles in the industry.”