YORK.- York Theatre Royal, founded in 1744 and one of the UK’s oldest producing theatres, reopens its doors on Friday 22 April 2016 following a £6million redevelopment. The project by architects De Matos Ryan has transformed the 270 year old theatre into a building fit to serve a 21st century audience with improved access and flexibility. The project has been funded by Arts Council England, City of York Council and York Conservation Trust with generous grants and donations from local and national trusts and foundations, corporate and individual supporters. A further £153,000 has been raised through a public fundraising campaign.

The Redevelopment
The first significant change to the building since Patrick Gwynne’s ground-breaking poured concrete and glass extension was added to the Victorian theatre in 1967, this redevelopment has improved access throughout the building, added a spacious open plan foyer and doubled the café area. The gothic colonnade, once exposed to the elements, has been enclosed by glass, creating a warm and inviting entrance. The extended foyer has been reimagined to reflect the ways the community and wider audience engage with the space. New seating areas have been incorporated into the layout with a new café and bistro offering freshly-made deli snacks and main meals with ingredients from the best of local Yorkshire suppliers. Polished terrazzo flooring in grey and white will reflect the outlines of the mediaeval foundations remaining below, bringing the history of the building into the modern space.

The main stage will be reconstructed in a modular form, allowing the stage to be adapted or removed entirely, offering a flexibility that is rarely seen in such an historic theatre. The new layout will enable traps and level changes to be provided with ease adding to the versatility of productions and making the theatre more suitable for touring productions and dance companies. Sightlines will dramatically improve with a new rake to the Stalls enhancing the intimacy of the auditorium and the Dress Circle and Gallery will receive new seating and raking to maximise capacity and improve comfort and sightlines.

The Archaeology
York Theatre Royal lies on the site of St Leonard’s Hospital, one of the largest and most important hospitals of mediaeval England. Throughout the theatre’s renovation a team of archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust spent several weeks carrying out excavations under the stage before ground works by the main contractor, William Birch and Son, took place in the auditorium. The team uncovered limestone foundations of the north wall of one of the 12th century hospital buildings and a number of the plinths and pillar bases for the rib-vaulted ground floor.

The dig also found the remains of a post-mediaeval cobbled street, made up of stones from St. Leonard’s Hospital, evidence of supporting columns from the hospital and a mediaeval well. An arched entranceway, situated in the back wall of the theatre has at various points been considered as both a section of the York Minster yard walls and part of the entrance to the Royal Mint in York. It has proved to be an unusual and rare 18th century folly which would have once formed part of a gateway to the gardens adjacent to the theatre that were swallowed up during 19th century expansion works.

The Spring 2016 Season
The spring season will see a new programme of events and activities to bring the community and audiences even closer to the work of the theatre. 270/360 will celebrate 270 years of York Theatre Royal with a 360-degree view of the theatre’s activities including talks, discussions, open rehearsals and meet-the-cast events. There will even be the opportunity to see productions from a completely different angle with A View from Backstage, where tickets will be available to watch from either the wings or the fly floor.