Almeida Theatre, Gainsborough Studios, 2000 & King’s Cross, 2001

The Almeida Theatre, searching for a temporary venue in which to stage large scale productions of Richard II and Coriolanus, negotiated a one-year lease on a former power station from the developer and commissioned Haworth Tompkins to convert the building for the lowest possible cost. The great turbine hall was returned to its original volume by the demolition of an intermediate floor, creating a single space over 25m high. Basic soundproofing was installed and a simple scaffold seating system developed to create a large courtyard auditorium on three levels. The remainder of the building was treated almost entirely as ‘found’ and formed the various bars and foyers. Scaffold staircases, ramps and simple cut openings were inserted to deal with the complex fire escape and circulation requirements for an audience of 900. Maintaining the sense of discovery and risk one feels on first entering a derelict building was an important part of the experience. The result was a spectacular but surprisingly intimate auditorium, in which the old building was allowed to become an integral and essential part of the performances. Having played to full houses for every performance throughout the summer of 2000, the venue closed at the end of the season and has now been demolished as planned.

“Haworth Tompkins intelligence and insight were very evident. They worked excellently and sensitively with everyone to create two performing spaces and a wonderful foyer. The few architectural ‘moves’ that were made were bold, low-cost and highly expressive: amongst them, a glowing polycarbonate entrance; roof and walls clad with grass as the solution to sound and heat insulation.”

This second temporary theatre for the Almeida was made in a derelict bus depot in Kings Cross, scheduled for demolition, converted to provide two auditoria of 550 and 300 seats respectively along with full front and back of house facilities. Inside the theatre, the industrial interiors were left raw, with stairs, bar and WC facilities dropped into the space to modify their proportions and establish a sense of arrival, reinforced by a long panel of back-lit yellow plastic sheet to mark the theatre entrance down a narrow alleyway. The main auditorium exploited a wide, low space to create an unusual proscenium stage, used to great effect by stage designers and directors. The other space was more classically proportioned, allowing easy re-configuration for each show. To achieve the necessary sound insulation, the roof and gables of the building were turfed in sedum, loaned by a landscape contractor. The resulting pitched roof garden, full of wildflowers in the centre of a busy urban block, became a local landmark for the year in which the theatre operated. From discovering the building to opening night, the entire project was completed in 17 weeks. Both projects, now long demolished, nevertheless changed perceptions of the neighbourhoods in which they were built, and established themselves in the collective memory as large scale, site-specific performances.