The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

August 26, 1931 square represented by the ground plan, thus getting a deeper stage and increasing the seating area. The absence of balconies and the increase in the number of aisles with the direction of their discharge gently downward eliminates the greater source of danger from panic. Wide aisles between each row eliminate the necessity of transverse aisles, each seat having by this arrangement a direct access to an exit commanding an excellent view of the stage and having plenty of legroom. At the stage there is no visible orchestra pit, no footlights and no proscenium. A flight of steps across the entire front of the stage and side jambs that lose themselves in the curve of the ceiling alone divide the stage from the auditorium. The only curtain is a steel one. There are two movable stage platforms which are raised and lowered to the basement by hydraulic power making it possible for one scene to be set while another is being played, substitution being effected in 20 seconds. Invisible Orchestra with Periscope ! The orchestra pit occupying the space between the foyer and the stage is entirely invisible to the audience, the sound reaching the auditorium through perforations in the risers of the continuous line of steps which form the apron of the stage. Sixty musicians can be accommodated and the conductor has a view of the stage through a periscope. In addition, there is a children’s theatre seating 200 children on the main floor and 60 adults on the balcony. This theatre is rectangular in shape with two side aisles. On the roof are terraces for outdoor dance and gymnasium rehearsals. This children’s theatre is 84 feet by 56 feet. There is also a Cabaret with a capacity for 250 people. The central tower is composed of over 100 large dressing rooms each having outside windows and showers, rehearsal rooms, workshop and offices. This tower is 19 storeys high, the top storeys being water tanks. The tower is 210 feet high with a floor space on each floor of 2,848 square feet. No. 4 is a Water Pageant Theatre, an open-air theatre for water pageants or various stage presentations built on a group of anchor barges in a lake with the stage separated from the auditorium by water. This auditorium will seat 2,000 people, but there is an additional area for 500 canoes to the total capacity of 1,500 people. These are the choice seats. The two side sections of the auditorium rise from 4 feet to 13 feet above water level MODERN CINEMA TECHNIQUE and the two centre sections rise from 4 feet to 22 feet above water level. In the rear of each section are wide stairs leading to the landings. At the sides and rear of the auditorium are landing docks with radiating piers supplying accommodation for 768 small boats simultaneously. Separating the auditorium from the stage is a canal 64 feet wide, a portion of which is roped off for 500 canoes from which the occupants can watch the pageant without landing. At either end are traffic towers to control the movement of the boats. The stage consists of a series of platforms connected by stairs underneath passages. Starting at 8 inches above the water these build up like a pyramid to 36 feet above the water. Walls and towers serve as background for the stage and eliminate the necessity for machinery. There is a very great deal of accommodation under the stage for baths and dressing rooms. The entire water pageant theatre is about 460 feet long and 632 feet wide. From the apron of the stage to the rear of the stage doors is 172 feet and from wall to wall the stage is 161 feet wide. The towers at the back of the stage are 80 feet high. Four Feet Clearance Between Chairs Our illustration No. 6 is known as Theatre No. 14 and is a small intimate theatre with the audience seated circuitously around all sides of the stage. It is generally on the principle of a European circus or a boxing ring. Separating the stage from the auditorium are steps which form an apron and an approach to the stage. There is an extensive basement and all scene changes are made in the basement under the stage. Scenery is set on two movable platforms which are raised by hydraulic power to the auditorium level. The house has a capacity of 800 people with no balcony and the auditorium is only six rows deep. It is cut by eight transverse aisles, but each tier of seats becomes an aisle by reason of the wide interval of 41 feet between one chair back and the next. It is said that the revenue from these 600 seats all at top prices is equal to twice that number of seats at the ordinary sliding scale. A broad promenade surrounds the auditorium with windows and upstairs is a special lounge with an out-door terrace cantilevered above. It will be seen that Mr. Geddes has in each of these varied fields of theatre design broken away from convention, with an admirable freshness and vigour. A study of the designs will probably prove stimulating to English architects. THE BIOSCOPE v Flowery Treatment Fresh Atmosphere in Sheffield Hall A summery atmosphere has been created at the Hillsborough Park Cinema, Sheffield, where an artistic decorative scheme has just been completed. A glowing colour treatment of arched openings with a profusion of hand-painted foliage and flowers has been introduced. The main walls surrounding the handpainted panels has been treated with Ashlar stone in shades to harmonise with the general scheme, and the whole of the ceiling has been designed to simulate the blue sky showing between the main stone ribs. An important feature is the mechanical operation of the curtain from the operating box. The hall has been wired for sound, and the acoustic properties are excellent. The exterior of the hall has been washed down and the brickwork re-pointed. Redecoration has also been carried out at the dance hall of the cinema, where two large mirrors have been installed. The whole of the decorations were carried out by S. Watt Smith & Sons, of West Street, Sheffield. Birmingham’s Next Mayfair , Perry Common The new Mayfair Cinema which has been erected at Perry Common, Kingstanding — one of the new municipal housing centres of the Birmingham Corporation— will, it is understood, open some time in September. The house has a seating capacity in the neighbourhood of 1,600, and several unique features will be embodied in the hall, which will have as its secondary lighting system a stand-by electrical system worked from storage batteries. The front of the house is constructed in red brick, with ornamental guildstone facings. Lionel Lyons, a well-known figure in Birmingham exhibiting circles, is chairman of directors, and with him on the directorate are I. L. Jacobs, E. Garfield and A. W. Rogers. The architect is Hurley Robinson, of Cherry Street, Birmingham. THE LATEST AND MOST UP-TO-DATE SYSTEM OF DECORATION shA6ue, ^ I ECLIPSE PAINT ORlfANBeAP I LIQUID WALLPAPER I Plain or Most Lustrous Schemes in all Classes of Decoration Full Particulars From : — LINDUM ENGINEERING CO. LTD. 39, VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, S.W. I Phone: VICTORIA 1540