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J&C Joel Raises the Roof at Leeds Carriage Works Theatre
J&C Joel has designed and installed a 27-way manual purchase counterweight system for the main auditorium at the new Leeds Carriage Works Theatre.
Incorporating the historic structure of an early Victorian carriage works and old Electric Press Building, the new venue is part of a £12 million commercial development of bars, cafés and restaurants grouped around a historic glass-roofed and heated courtyard. Replacing the existing Leeds Civic Theatre, The Carriage Works offers two performance spaces – the 350 seat main auditorium and a Studio Theatre - in addition to rehearsal and conference/meeting facilities.
The brand new theatre is part of an ongoing cultural strategy undertaken by the local authority in consultation with the community. It’s designed to widen the City’s range of lively, accessible cultural and entertainment options.
The project was managed for J&C Joel by Tony Griffiths, who commented: “J&C Joel were proud to play an active role in such a prestige city centre project.”
The theatre required a fully flexible rigging and performance solution. To accommodate this J&C Joel manufactured and installed a full stage depth counterweight wall frame to accommodate up to 37 counterweight sets. Initially 21 five line manual single purchased counterweight sets were installed, each with the added benefit of operation from the fly or stage levels. To further increase the stage flying flexibility the system also features two side masking counterweights (one each side). In addition, because of the theatre’s height restrictions the front five counterweights are double purchase to allow the suspension bars to pass through a grid opening – effectively allowing the convenience of the pros borders and house curtains to be fully flown out.
This unique flexible approach allows the theatre to make a quick and practical conversion from a traditional proscenium set up with coloured front header and proscenium curtains, to a more contemporary ‘black box’ set up as required.
Suspended from the ball-raced multi-pulley and steel core suspension cables, each of the 11m long ladder frame suspension bars have telescopic ends to maximise the stage width between both galleries as each performance dictates.
To complement the counterweight system, J&C Joel also supplied and installed twin hardwood cleat rails running the full stage depth, and belaying pins for the theatre’s spot line use.
In addition to these, when completing the contract, J&C Joel also supplied and installed side lighting ladders, portable lighting racks, vertical access ladder, grid access and lifting winch, full guards and guard rails to the counterweight system, fly and loading floors, cross-over gallery and grid - along with a full set of stage curtain blacks for performer and equipment masking, with coloured tabs for the proscenium and header and white gauze for the rear wall. Finally, to complement the rehearsal space, they installed a tubular steel lighting grid suspended from the main steels.
On completion of the contract, technical manager Peter Waddicor commented: “We were pleased with the performance of J&C Joel. They completed the job extremely quickly and with absolutely no fuss. The new system (which replaced the hemp set era of the old Civic Theatre) is totally flexible and offers us all the options needed for a modern performance space and a busy producing and receiving house.”
J&C Joel were sub-contracted to principal building contractors Interior Exterior Ltd whose end client is Leeds City Council.
The main challenge, according to Tony Griffiths, was the short period from receipt of order to completion on site. "Within 11 weeks detailed drawings were submitted and approved, manufacturing completed and installation achieved - all within programme and in house. It provides evidence of J&C Joel’s ability to produce high quality work as and when the client requires it," he said.
15th March 2006
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