Projects in
Theatre

New college building

Manchester College

Situated in the heart of Manchester city centre, City Campus
Manchester opened in su .. read more

Theatre and studio design

CAPA College

A specialist provision for students aged 16-19 from across the North of England, CAP .. read more

New theatre project

Reading Rep Theatre

Reading Rep combines high-class productions with ground-breaking education and c .. read more

Walthamstow Assembly Hall

Walthamstow Assembly Hall

This beautiful Grade II listed Art Deco venue received a £1
million refurbishment.& .. read more

George Wood Theatre, Goldsmiths

George Wood Theatre, Goldsmiths College, UK

The renovation of the George Wood Theatre has provided the
College with a contempora .. read more

Wells Maltings auditorium

Wells Maltings, Norfolk, UK

Wells-next-the-Sea sits on the North Norfolk coast and, like many small coastal comm .. read more

Scarborough Spa Pavilion, UK

The Grand Hall is excellent when used for its original purpose, as a Concert Hall.  .. read more

Arts Theatre, Bahrain

This was a brand new 750 seat theatre built on the outskirts of Manama in Bahrain. Th .. read more

Capel Soar Arts Centre, Wales, UK

Capel Soar is an imposing Baptist Chapel in Penygraig, Mid Rhondda originally built i .. read more

Pound Arts Centre, Corsham, UK

The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham has recently undergone a £1.2 million refurbishment .. read more

Manchester College

Situated in the heart of Manchester city centre, City Campus Manchester opened in summer 2022 offering state-of-the-art, industry-standard facilities. The campus provides both exceptional study and is designed to ensure students have everything they need to have an amazing student experience.

The building contains a main theatre with tension wire grid, black box studio theatre, two film studios, TV studio, various music recording suites, radio studio, singing, dance and drama studios. It is home to the College’s Industry Excellence Academy for Creative and Digital Industries as well as UCEN Manchester’s Arden School of Theatre and Manchester Film School.

Drama by Design were involved with the project from feasibility study through to completion. We worked with the architects Bond Bryan on the design of the building and designed all the specialist technical systems.

The main theatre features a tension wire grid over the whole area, with two fly bars at the rear of the stage for backdrops. Infrastructure is designed around utilising LED luminaires with sequential power and DMX distribution. Facilities are provided to easily control the AV system for assemblies and conference use and for showing films. There are front, mid and rear stage curtain tracks, side masking curtains on tracks and an electrically retractable seating system.

The black box theatre has a conventional internally wired barrel grid with perimeter curtain track. Both theatre spaces are equipped with a comprehensive facility panel infrastructure allowing audio, video and comms signals to be easily accessed.

Music recording suites are provided for both the FE and HE parts of the College, each with a series of music rooms linked to control rooms for recording with a camera system enabling the spaces to be monitored.

The top floor has a range of singing, dance and drama studios. Some are equipped with active loudspeakers to enable music to be played, others have full performance facilities including lighting grids, facility panels and sound systems. The loudspeaker system is centrally controlled with local control and input plates for connecting mobile devices via cable or Bluetooth.

Communications systems around the building include front of house and backstage paging and show relay for the theatres, intercom systems for the theatre and music suites and induction loop assisted listening systems.

Drama by Design worked with the main contractor to deliver the project effectively to include testing and commissioning on completion.

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