The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 25.020  Saturday, 11 January 2014

 

From:        Hardy Cook <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Date:         January 11, 2014 at 9:57:30 AM EST

Subject:    The Building of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse 

 

Since March 2013, there have been seven YouTube videos tracking the progress of the building of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. I got interested with the most recent one on lighting the playhouse with candles alone. Below are links to the seven videos and descriptions of what each contains.

 

 

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LtZfwWJzU

 

McCurdy’s Timber Yard

 

As building work progresses on the fabrication of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, we meet Peter McCurdy and his team of craftsmen who are working to realise the architect's plans.

Learn about the origin of the drawings, the timber and how the frame will be held together, and how research of surviving Jacobean buildings is key to the detail of our new indoor theatre.

 

 

Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQEXYfpEB4I

 

Rebuilding the Foyer

 

As part of the building of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, our foyer has been closed since October 2012 and has undergone a redevelopment, in readiness for the Globe Theatre season opening 23 April 2013.
 

As works come to a close on the foyer, watch the video to hear about the redesign of the space and the challenges of building in an urban area with the theatre open to the public.

 

 

Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7MlUVWLDHA

 

Opening the Foyer

 

In this latest video, Neil Constable, Chief Executive, talks through the newly opened foyer, including a performance of a special foyer fanfare, and the next stages of building the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

 

Dr Farah Karim-Cooper, Head of Research, follows to give a background to the project and the Architectural Research Group's task of constructing as an authentic theatre as possible, with details that Shakespeare would have experienced in his indoor space. She also shares the exciting questions that the Playhouse raises, with opportunities to learn about 17th century indoor performance practice.

 

 

Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC2jc4qsVso

 

Arrival of the Timber

 

See how the interior of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is beginning to take shape. Peter McCurdy, McCurdy & Co, talks through the arrival of the largest timbers, how they have been crafted and marked so that they fit together and how important it is to remember that the timbers are part of the final finish, like wallpaper or paint.
 

We also hear from Oli Heywood, Allies and Morrison, who explains how the concept drawings found in Worcester College have been interpreted for the building

 

 

Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnsUobyUcm8

 

Music

 

In this video, Claire van Kampen (Globe Associate for Early Modern Music) and Bill Barclay (Director of Music, Shakespeare’s Globe) discuss the beauty of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse musically.
 

Claire talks us through the experiments and exploration that the space will offer, looking at the difference between musical instruments used outdoors, for the Globe, and indoors for the Playhouse.

 

Bill elaborates on the Playhouse as a dynamic concert hall, with the 2014 programme mirroring concerts from before plays in the Jacobean era.

 

 

Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5-u9MIRPeI

 

Painting the Ceiling

 

We take a peek inside the paint studios at Central School of Speech and Drama to find out about the painting of the ceiling for the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. The design will depict the heavens and fill the auditorium above the stage and audience.

 

Jon Greenfield, Reconstruction Architect, along with scenic artists Peter Cromby and Pierre Beadry, the team who worked on the Globe, talk through the styles and influences of the Jacobean period and where artists and craftsmen of the time would have picked up this knowledge. We also hear about techniques used on the panels, such as gold leaf, to reflect and amplify the light of the candles to be used in the Playhouse

 

 

Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU92wfyW31o 

 

Candles

 

As the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse gets ready to open its doors to audiences for the very first time, we hear from Dr Farah Karim-Cooper, Head of Research, and Paul Russell, Production Manager, about how candles will light the theatre and be used in plays. 

 

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