The Seagull (theatre)

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The Seagull

Seagull Theatre Facade.jpg

The Seagull
Address Morton Road, Pakefield
Lowestoft
England, UK
Coordinates 52°27′24″N1°44′09″E / 52.4566°N 1.7357°E / 52.4566; 1.7357
Owner B.I. Fosten
Operator Hales Group
Type Repertory
Capacity 112
Current use Active
Construction
Built 1895
Opened 1967
Closed 2006
Reopened 2007
Website
http://www.theseagull.co.uk

The Seagull is a theatre and cinema in Pakefield, a suburb of Lowestoft in Suffolk, run almost entirely by volunteers from the local community. It plays host to regional and national touring theatre companies as well as films and other acts, and runs its own production company known as The Seagull Rep. The slogan for The Seagull is "Transforming the Community through the Arts".

Theatre collaborative form of performing and fine art

Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers, typically actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον, itself from θεάομαι.

Pakefield human settlement in United Kingdom

Pakefield is a suburb of the town of Lowestoft in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. Pakefield is located around 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the centre of the town. Although today it forms a suburb of the urban area of Lowestoft, it was until 1934 a village and parish in its own right. Pakefield lies along the North Sea coast. The former parish church, All Saints and St Margarets, is located on the coast.

Lowestoft town in Suffolk, England

Lowestoft is an English town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk. The town, on the North Sea coast, is the most easterly settlement of the United Kingdom. It is 110 miles (177 km) north-east of London, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Norwich. It lies on the edge of The Broads system and is the major settlement in the district of Waveney, with a population of 71,010 in 2011. Some of the earliest evidence of settlement in Britain has been found here. As a port town it developed out of the fishing industry and as a traditional seaside resort. It has wide, sandy beaches, two piers and other attractions. While its fisheries have declined, oil and gas exploitation in the southern North Sea in the 1960s added to its development, as a base for the industry alongside nearby Great Yarmouth. This role has declined, but the town has begun to develop as an Eastern England centre of the renewable energy industry.

Contents

The venue has a main auditorium seating of 112 [1] including space for wheelchair users, as well as a recording studio, dance studio and bar. The venue also has on-site car parking.

History

The auditorium during a refit (2016) Seagull Theatre Auditorium.jpg
The auditorium during a refit (2016)

The building is of Victorian origin and was previously the site of the Morton Road School from 1897 to 1939. [2] [3] It never reopened as a school after World War II and was used as an annex to Lowestoft College from 1945 as a centre for coachbuilding and engineering courses. The building was converted into a theatre in 1967 and opened as The Seagull. [2] [3]

Victorian architecture series of architectural revival styles

Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles. The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Suffolk County Council, which owned the theatre, withdrew funding in 2006 as a result of budget cuts and the venue closed. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] As a result, The SOS ('Save our Seagull') Charity Trust Group was formed with patrons including actress Dame Judi Dench, actor Des Barrit and regional broadcaster Helen McDermott. [2] [4] [8] The campaign was also backed by author Louis de Bernières. [9]

Suffolk County Council British administrative body

Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.

Judi Dench English actress

Dame Judith Olivia Dench is an English actress. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years, she performed in several of Shakespeare's plays, in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Although most of her work during this period was in theatre, she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical Cabaret in 1968.

Desmond Barrit is a Welsh actor, best known for his stage work.

In 2007 the council sold The Seagull for an estimated £250,000 [7] [10] and it was reopened in October 2007 with a gala performance by jazz singer Liane Carroll. [11] It is currently undergoing continued renovation and has received investment in the form of new technical equipment. [7]

Liane Carroll British musician

Liane Carroll is an English vocalist, pianist and keyboardist.

A 2009 production of Macbeth featured former model Abi Titmuss as Lady Macbeth, [1] [12] [13] [14] while in 2010 singer Jessie Buckley from the BBC TV show I'd Do Anything performed at the theatre. [15] In 2011 folk musician Jez Lowe from BBC Radio 2 did a show at the theatre, [16] as did the comedian and folk singer Richard Digance in 2015. [17]

<i>Macbeth</i> play by William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, who was patron of Shakespeare's acting company, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.

Abi Titmuss English actress, television personality, poker player, and former glamour model

Abigail Evelyn "Abi" Titmuss, also known professionally as Abigail Evelyn, is an English actress, television personality, poker player, and former glamour model.

Lady Macbeth character in Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (c.1603–1607). The wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes queen of Scotland. Later, however, she suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime, which drives her to sleepwalk. She dies off-stage in the last act, an apparent suicide.

Today the theatre hosts a varied programme of plays, concerts, charity events, films and live music shows throughout the year showcasing local talent and regional and national touring theatre companies, musicians and entertainers. In addition to the 112 seat Auditorium the theatre operates three studios for dance and acting schools, rehearsal and performance space. The theatre receives no funding except what it raises through its own activities; the staff includes two paid employees and about 50 volunteers.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Caesar.E Abi Titmuss hits the stage in Macbeth, The Times Online, 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  2. 1 2 3 The Seagull Theatre Lowestoft, Music and Events, 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  3. 1 2 Save Our Seagull: an artistic vision for the community, Save Our Seagull. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  4. 1 2 Battle to save popular theatre is won, East Anglian Daily Times, 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  5. ↑ Quinn.M (2007) Supporters rejoice as Lowestoft’s Seagull gets £250,000 lifeline, The Stage, 2007-05-03. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  6. ↑ No more free food for council chiefs, Eastern Daily Press, 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  7. 1 2 3 Seagull is flying again, East Coast Live, 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  8. ↑ Dame Judi backs theatre campaign, BBC News website, 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  9. ↑ Author Joins Outcry Over Theatre Closure, Eastern Daily Press, 2006-09-09. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  10. ↑ Theatre thrown a lifeline, East Anglian Daily Times, 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  11. ↑ Rescued theatre reopens, Eastern Daily Press, 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  12. ↑ Kendall.P (2009) Abi Titmuss: Glamour girl to Lady Macbeth, The Telegraph, 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  13. ↑ From the wards to the boards, BBC News website, 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  14. ↑ Taking Macbeth to the nightclubs, BBC News website, 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  15. ↑ Jessie all set for Seagull, Lowestoft Journal, 2010-04-16 . Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  16. ↑ Oscar Wilde classic play at The Seagull, Lowestoft Journal, 2011-04-01 . Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  17. ↑ Richard Digance at the Seagull Theatre in Lowestoft (2015)
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