A new play often means building a new set. It doesn’t often mean building a new theatre. That’s what Chichester Festival Theatre decided to do to mark its 50th anniversary celebrations.
The group engaged design-and-build team Assemble to create Theatre on the Fly, a temporary space to be used for a 9-week summer programme of plays. Assemble continued the CFT’s community ethos by using 40 local volunteers of all ages to help complete the project, which was constructed almost entirely from reusable, recyclable and, crucially, donated materials.
The central focus of the space is an exposed fly-tower mechanism, used in theatres to lift objects and people about on stage, and traditionally concealed from view. Another innovation are the walls. Assemble have taken advantage of the parkland setting by using a translucent webbing over the scaffolding frame, which allows light to flood in, and at £300 ensured the cash didn’t flood out. It’s also virtually silent in wind and rain, allowing the action of the play to remain centre stage.
Photography, Jim Stephenson
