Last night a buzzing crowd gathered in our Factory Theatre Bar for a public meeting to hear plans for the future at Tobacco Factory Theatres.
Our director, Ali Robertson, announced exciting new plans, despite the recent closure of the Brewery Theatre, with a proposed project to relocate our second theatre space into the main Tobacco Factory building, alongside the existing Factory Theatre.
Following widespread concern, questions and interest from audiences and peers following the Brewery Theatre closure, we held a public meeting in order to share plans and dispel rumours. Though the project timeline is strictly subject to funding, we felt it was important at this moment to share how important it is to the organisation, our audiences and the artistic community, that we remain a two venue theatre and what this means for the programme and the audience experience. Providing fundraising over the next few months is successful, we plan to implement the plans this year, with the new studio theatre intended to open towards the end of 2016.
The new theatre project involves transforming the area currently taken by the existing dance studio (at the opposite end of the building to the Factory Theatre) in order to create a fantastic new 86-seat theatre space, including dressing rooms and state of the art technical facilities. The project will also involve significant soundproofing to ensure that performances in both the current Factory Theatre and the new theatre can run concurrently and the front of house area will be increased in size.
Ali Robertson, Director of Tobacco Factory Theatres said: “Having a second, smaller performance space is crucial to who we are, the work that we can do and the impact we can have on both our artistic and public communities. A second, smaller space allows us to present outstanding young talent from emerging artists and companies, as well as cutting edge new writing, wonderfully engaging family shows and riskier less performed work, both from touring companies or as in-house productions.”
“This type of programming has an important impact on inspiring the next generation of theatre makers and audiences. And our plan to bring our second, smaller space into the factory building, alongside the Factory Theatre has a multitude of gains. It will bring our two spaces together under one roof; making Tobacco Factory Theatres a wonderful place for actors and companies to work alongside one another and for audiences to enjoy the experience of a bustling, welcoming venue which is bursting with creativity and personality. It’s also a very financial and environmentally sustainable model which will reduce costs, ultimately allowing us to invest more back into our programme. Finally, this project will enable us to secure a 999 year lease over both performances spaces, giving us a level of security we have never before enjoyed and enabling us to plan for future generations in this wonderful theatre.”
Not only will these plans mean that we continue to have two performance spaces (after the recent closure of the Brewery Theatre – see below) but we will use the Brewery Studio spaces for regular community classes (from yoga to Kung Fu) that currently happen in the Factory Studio and the previous Brewery Theatre will act as a technically facilitated rehearsal space for artists and companies – a vital, in-demand resource for the city.
The new theatre project timeline is strictly subject to funding and we will reveal more over the coming months as funding application results are announced.
You can view the floor plans for the new theatre below. Please bear in mind these are working plans only, posted here to give you an idea of the new shape of the floor and how we can use our space to accommodate the new studio theatre. We are enjoying working closely with our design team to explore the intricacies of the plans to create a new studio theatre in our much-loved building.
In the meantime, our Factory Theatre programme continues unabated with, amongst others, the fantastic Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory and Tobacco Factory Theatres co-produced season of Shakespeare (Hamlet and All’s Well That Ends Well). Plus we are thrilled to be undertaking our first off-site season in venues across Bristol – Tobacco Factory Theatres BEYOND.
PRESS AND PUBLIC ENQUIRIES
For press enquiries, please contact: Becky Cresswell, Head of Marketing on
0117 963 0940 or becky@tobaccofactorytheatres.com
We’ll be publishing FAQs from the meeting online soon but if you’re a member of the public with further questions or comments, please send us an email to theatre@tobaccofactorytheatres.com
Hadn’t heard about the Brewery Theatre Closure?
Following changes in the freehold of Mark’s Café and the Brewery Theatre, and consequent changes in insurance and licensing demands, the two organisations will be unable to share front of house facilities including toilets and bar. These changes will make it impossible for the Brewery Theatre to host audiences so the Brewery Theatre closed to the public for a period from January 2016.
During the closure and in the future, the Brewery Theatre space will be used as a technically facilitated rehearsal space; a vital resource for artists and companies in the city. We will also use the next few months to cement plans for the future of our second theatre space as well as undertaking our first off-site season in venues across Bristol – Tobacco Factory Theatres BEYOND.
Posted on 13 January 2016
