Copyright © 2024 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
I am going to cover a lot of ground in this post. From the morning of August 5 to the evening of 6, 2024, we ran on a tight schedule as we traveled from Buxton, England, to Brecon, Wales. In the end we visited seven theaters in two days: Buxton Opera House, Chatsworth House Theatre, Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre, Nottingham’s Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham Playhouse, and Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre.
On our way from Skipton to Nottingham, we opted to take a chance at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield, without an invitation. There are no other words for our impromptu visit to the Lyceum other than “lucky.”
Fortunately, Mike had already photographed the Lyceum, so this was our foot in the door. With the promise of “no photography” (due to a major touring production) we were soon ushered into the space for an amazing tour. Here are Mike Hume’s page on Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre: https://www.historictheatrephotos.com/Theatre/Lyceum-Sheffield.aspx
On the morning of August 6, we headed into Nottingham for our first stop at the Theatre Royal. Our appointment was scheduled an hour before the crew was called, so we could see the safety curtain. Here are a few pictures of the space:
An unexpected bonus was heading next door to see the Royal Concert Hall. Amazingly, this was the one time of the year that they perform maintenance on the orchestra shell – phenomenal site!
Our next visit was to the paint shop at the Nottingham playhouse.
Clair Thompson, Emily Hackett, and Erin Heming had all attended my Distemper Painting Workshop at the Tyne Theatre & Opera House from July 30-August 1, 2024. I also want to make it clear that we had more than one invitation from both workshop participants and conference attendees; we just couldn’t fit everything into our schedule. This visit was only possible because it was only a short walk from the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall.
Claire Thompson’s shop may be one of the friendliest spaces that I have entered in quite sometime. Although, bustling with activity, there was a concerted effort to stop and welcome us with coffee/tea and biscuits (cookies). Those is charge frequently set the tone; Claire’s kindness radiates and is reflected by those around her. I will tell you one thing, if I ever move to Nottingham, I want to work with the women from this shop.
Despite our busy schedule, Mike and I made time to visit two tourist attractions (my request). The first was Robin Hood’s statue at Nottingham Castle; it was the tale of Robin Hood that peaked my mom’s interest in history, a passion that she passed down to me.
Our second quick visit was to Old Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem 1189 AD, purportedly the oldest inn in England.
After Nottingham, Mike and I drove to Cheltenham where we had an afternoon appointment at the Everyman Theatre. This tour truly exceeded all our expectations. We were all over the building! Here are a few photos from our visit.
When Mike Hume creates pages for the abovementioned at Historic Theatre Photography, I will share the links HERE.
After Cheltenham, we we were on our way to Wales.
By early evening we were enjoying dinner at the Hotel Wellington. My next few posts will be about the Adelina Patti Theatre in Craig Y Nos, Wales.
To be continued…
I’m enjoying every one of these posts!
Such a great trip and such a fine exploration of so many of the U.K.’s fascinating historic theatres… thank you for all your efforts in recording the journey. 👏👏👏