Workington Opera House

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The Workington Opera House - Pre 1927. Advert5.jpg
The Workington Opera House - Pre 1927.

The Workington Opera House, or The Opera as it was known, is a purpose built theatre located in Workington, Cumbria, England. Originally built as the Queen’s Jubilee Hall & Opera House it was gutted by fire in 1927 and rebuilt with a fine wide auditorium, and Ornamental ceiling with seating for 1200. The theatre has good sightlines and a large stage and currently sits empty after its former use as a bingo hall ended in 2004.

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.

Fire rapid oxidation of a material

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition.

Auditorium room for an audience to hear and watch performances

An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theatres, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and theaters, and may be used for rehearsal, presentation, performing arts productions, or as a learning space.

Contents

History

The Workington Opera House - 2010. Operahouse2010.jpg
The Workington Opera House - 2010.

The theatre was designed by T. L. Banks & Townsend and had a small auditorium with two balconies accommodating 1,130 people. The theatre was also equipped with a small stage with a proscenium width of 11 metres, a depth of 9.14 metres and a grid height of 14 metres. An orchestra pit for 16 musicians was also included. [1]

Stage (theatre) designated space for the performance of productions

In theatre and performing arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance of productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience. As an architectural feature, the stage may consist of a platform or series of platforms. In some cases, these may be temporary or adjustable but in theaters and other buildings devoted to such productions, the stage is often a permanent feature.

Proscenium

A proscenium is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame into which the audience observes from a more or less unified angle the events taking place upon the stage during a theatrical performance. The concept of the fourth wall of the theatre stage space that faces the audience is essentially the same.

Orchestra large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which mixes instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.

Explosion sudden release of energy through high temperatures and gas expansion

An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known as detonations and travel via supersonic shock waves. Subsonic explosions are created by low explosives through a slower burning process known as deflagration.

Architect person trained to plan and design buildings, and oversee their construction

An architect is a person who plans, designs and reviews the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that have human occupancy or use as their principal purpose. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, which derives from the Greek, i.e., chief builder.

Current owners

Graves (Cumberland) Ltd currently own the building and have planning permission for 5 years to replace the theatre with retail and residential units. Graves own many different assets across Cumbria including cinemas, bingo halls and in the past they owned and ran a number of theatres. [2]

Cumbria Ceremonial (geographic) county of England

Cumbria is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county, and the only other major urban area is Barrow-in-Furness on the southwestern tip of the county.

SAVE Workington Opera House logo. SAVEworkingtonoperahouselogoSQ.png
SAVE Workington Opera House logo.

The future of the theatre

The Workington Opera House is now under threat of demolition to be replaced with retail units and flats. [3] The Save Workington Opera House group are fighting to have this building made available to the town of Workington as a working civic theatre that the community can be proud of. [4]

Demolition tearing-down of buildings and other structures

Demolition, or razing, is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other man-made structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for reuse purposes.

Apartment self-contained housing unit occupying part of a building

An apartment, flat or unit is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building, generally on a single storey. There are many names for these overall buildings, see below. The housing tenure of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale public housing, to owner occupancy within what is legally a condominium, to tenants renting from a private landlord.

Workington town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England

Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland and lying in the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is 32 miles (51.5 km) southwest of Carlisle, 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Cockermouth, and 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Maryport. At the 2011 Census it had a population of 25,207.

Specifications

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References

  1. ↑ "The Opera House, Pow Street, Workington, Cumbria". arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  2. ↑ "GRAVES (CUMBERLAND) LIMITED". Companies in the UK. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  3. ↑ "Civic trust backs plans to demolish Workington's Opera House". News and Star. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  4. ↑ "Save Workington Opera House". Workington Opera House. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  5. ↑ "Opera House (Workington)". Theatres Trust. Retrieved 2010-05-02.

Coordinates: 54°38′38″N3°32′39″W / 54.6438°N 3.5443°W / 54.6438; -3.5443

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