Bristol is blessed with atmospheric locations, none more so than the Loco Klub at Temple Meads; would Brunel ever have dreamt that the ash pits for his steam locos would become a place to see shows? During the redevelopment period of Bristol Old Vic’s new foyer and studio theatre, regular users of its venues have been looking further afield for interesting spaces to excite audiences.
March 2018 saw Bristol Old Vic Theatre School take on the daunting task of turning the tunnels below part of Temple Meads Station known as the Ash Pits (part of the Loco Klub) into a theatre to present Dracula, Liz Lochhead’s version of the Bram Stoker novel. The challenge becomes not just the design for the show but the conversion of a series of tunnels into a place safe for audiences to enjoy a performance. The atmosphere is Gothic and immediately lends itself to this story about a Vampire however it is a Grade 1 listed building – you can’t fix into the walls or ceiling – making supporting lighting and scenic elements difficult. Add to this very limited seating, an uneven floor and no heating makes for a challenge for the Theatre School’s normal audience, now being asked to watch an almost three-hour long show in promenade.
With such a vast space to work in, the equation for the director, the designer and the production team becomes one of how to limit ambition in the face of what’s practical, and no amount of planning could have foreseen the sudden snow showers over the ‘get-in’ weekend preventing trucks full of stage and lighting equipment arriving for two days, curtailing the production week by several sessions. However the show opened on time and was well received.
Was it worth it? You don’t know until you’ve tried, but pushing the boundaries is surely what theatre is about, for audiences but also for young professionals in training, designers, actors, stage managers – the whole production team. We constantly learn from the experience of being in different venues, particularly those such as the Ash Pits/Loco Klub but if StageTalk’s excellent reviews of Dracula and Woyzeck are anything to go by, it was worth tackling the unconventional.
© Paul Rummer/StageTalk Magazine
