The Bear Pit Theatre refurbishment
Nicola Baldwin shares her thoughts on MRT’s recent involvement refurbishing the Bear Pit Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon:
As both an Associate of MRT Architects and and Associate Artist of The Bear Pit Theatre, I was delighted to bring these associations together and assist David Taylor in the design of the new dressing rooms and backstage areas at The Bear Pit, to the rear of the United Reformed Church, Rother Street, Stratford, funded mostly by a generous grant from the Stratford Town Trust.
It was useful to have a personal working knowledge of how the existing areas had been utilized to date and what was needed to improve that working situation. For example:- The Bear Pit now has a much needed storage area for costumes and props on a mezzanine created in the existing dressing room. We were also able to create two further adjoining dressing rooms and a WC in the former Kitchen. The drafty windows have been replaced and new radiators installed – so no more freezing winters to endure! A new kitchen area has been created in the backstage area where hot beverages can be prepared and scenic paint brushes washed.
The opening of these new areas was officially performed in front of an invited audience of Bear Pit Associates and friends by the Stratford Town Trust Deputy Chairman Carol Taylor and presided over by Simon Allen the Chairman of The Bear Pit and David Mears the Artistic Director of The Bear Pit (recently seen performing to great acclaim, in the role of ‘Bottom’ in the RSC’s Dream Sixteen production of “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream”).
