(16/10/2014) Stephen Sondheims Gypsy is playing at the renewed Chichester Festival Theatre this month following a £22 million refurbishment project by architects Haworth Tompkins and theatre design consultant Charcoalblue to create 21st Century facilities.
Imelda Staunton stars as the legendary Mama Rose in a space now enhanced with improvements to foyers, front of house, the auditorium, backstage facilities and technical infrastructure. The refurbishments are part of the RENEW project, which aimed to sustain and improve the unique Festival Theatre building at the same time as working sympathetically with the original design.
Charcoalblue worked closely with the Chichester Festival Theatre and Haworth Tompkins to improve the circulation, accessibility and audience sightlines, increase the seating capacity, technical access, replace infrastructure with more sustainable technologies to minimise future running costs and upgrade and improve the auditorium rigging, lighting and sound systems, says Charcoalblues Project Manager Alex Wardle. CFT can now hang more equipment over the stage and get to it more easily. The entire stage is demountable, which means that Gypsy can be staged with the band in an orchestra pit, rather than behind the stage. We worked with Skelly & Couch and GDS to develop an LED version of Chichesters starry night houselights, which use less power and dont require the crew to spend hours changing lamps.
The project arose from the recognition that the original building was operating on a scale way beyond what was envisaged in 1962. Originally built on a budget to operate for an 11-week summer festival with 75,000 visitors a year, the theatre is now open year-round with over 300,000 visitors annually.
Wardle spent a lot of time with Chichester Festival Theatres (CFT) technical team, getting under the skin of the client to understand what was required.
Im proud to say that Charcoalblue gave the time, resources, and staff expertise to this project, pulling in all of our experience and matching it with CFTs in-house teams needs - it was truly a collaborative effort, between us we could create something that each side couldnt do alone, says Wardle. The CFT building presented some serious challenges due to its shape, structure, and infrastructure, which required a lot of head-scratching and detailed analysis. However, we managed to create a much more streamlined and usable space, especially back stage where accessibility and practicality has been transformed from the original design.
The key improvements include: bigger foyer areas with more space, light and seating - and twice as many toilets; improved access facilities with two new lifts, making the theatre fully accessible on all levels; transformed auditorium with increased seating capacity and refurbished seats; an increase in the auditorium rake, improving sightlines and intimacy by bringing audiences closer to the stage; a new extension housing a rear stage which is level with the stage, a large new get-in lift, significantly improved backstage facilities for actors, creatives and theatre staff; changes to make the building more energy efficient including a new ground source heat pump system to both heat and cool the building.
Charcoalblue has been tremendously supportive in helping us walk that tightrope of can do and cannot do you find in every building project, says Dan Watkins, Project Director, Chichester Festival Theatre. The CFT team has been guided through the decision-making process with patience and calm.
The Grade II* listed Chichester Festival Theatre is one of the UKs leading producing theatres, regularly selling out the 1,200-seat auditorium and transferring plays and musicals into the West End of London. The theatre was inspired by Tyrone Guthries thrust stage at Stratford Ontario and designed by architects Powell and Moya. It opened in 1962 under the directorship of Laurence Olivier and the building was Britains first modern thrust stage theatre.
About Charcoalblue
Since Charcoalblues inception in 2004 the company has become the go-to consultancy for many of the countrys leading architects, venues and theatre organisations.
In just under ten years Charcoalblue has provided its services to some of the UKs most recognised venues including national treasures such as: the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Charcoalblue has also been an integral member of the design teams for cutting edge venues including Siobhan Davies Dance, The Young Vic and Graeae.
In addition Charcoalblue has delivered a number of temporary venues, perhaps best known is The RSC Courtyard Theatre and - one of Charcoalblues most visible projects today - the recently opened NT Shed on Londons Southbank.
Since inception the company has extended its geographical reach and today Charcoalblue provides its distinctive design expertise in Europe, the Middle East and beyond. The company has contributed to high profile venues such as Antwerps Queen Elisabeth Hall and the Qasr al Hosn redevelopment in Abu Dhabi.
In 2012 Charcoalblue opened its US Office in Manhattan, New York. Since then the company has accepted and delivered projects from across America including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and St Anns Warehouse in Brooklyn.
Today Charcoalblue provides full consultancy and implementation services in theatre design, space planning, acoustics, technical system design and strategic business planning.
Charcoalblues collaborative approach and attention to detail has consistently won the company, and its staff, industry awards, ecstatic reviews from the theatrical and architectural press and, most importantly, high-praise from the performers, technicians and audiences who work for, and inhabit, their spaces.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
(16/10/2014) Stephen Sondheims Gypsy is playing at the renewed Chichester Festival Theatre this month following a £22 million refurbishment project by architects Haworth Tompkins and theatre design consultant Charcoalblue to create 21st Century facilities.
