General

The Alnwick Playhouse presents continual seasons of performance offering a wide variety of both in-house and touring productions including Theatre, Music and Dance. It also presents Cinema with regular film showings and houses a busy programme of community events. It has a theatre bar, front of house meeting and exhibition areas, has a strong community access policy, and is administered by Trust.

Performance Area

• The stage is roughly 17m across and 7m deep with black ply-skimmed floor. (note: not practical for drilled floor fixings)
• Black-box setting with black cyc-cloth, mid-stage black legs/masking and down-stage hand-winched red house tabs. 2.5m approx wing-space. (note: no scene-dock)
• Fixed open overhead grid 7m from floor
• Stage access directly from backstage greenroom/dressing room area with cross-over off-stage behind cyc wall. (note: no fly-bars in situ)

Lighting (see links above for diagrams)

The control room is situated centrally at the rear of the raked auditorium. Access to the on-stage overheads is by means of a Tallescope, and the FOH. bar is reached by A-frame ladder.

36 ways of Dimming (Beta-packs patch/plug)

• Three fixed IWB LX bars over stage with 16 circuits on each
• LX1 is slightly forward of downstage apron: LX2 is at mid-stage: LX3 is at up-stage 'cyc'
• Fixed FOH. bar is at rear auditorium with 12 circuits
• 24 dip circuits (12 each wing)
• 48 channel Zero88 FatFrog board
• 16 x 1K Cantata Fresnels
• 12 x 1K Cantata Profiles
• 8 x Parcans
• 3 x 4-cell coda cyc units
• Small stock Lee standard colour
• Small stock TRS etc
  

Sound (Live Music)

• 24 channel Allen & Heath desk (4 mixes + eq and fx unit - no compressors)
• 2500W amplification
• FOH PA speakers raised at st/l and st/r at proscenium
• 8 x SM58 mics
• 3 x SM57 mics
• 3 x AKG condenser mics
• 6 x Yamaha wedge monitors
• CD / MD playback
• Small stock XLR / mic stands etc
• In-house op. position rear auditorium L
• Touring op. position rear auditorium R approx. 30m from 32amp feed / on-stage (st/l) as required

Sound (Theatre)

• 8 channel Yamaha mixer with graphic and FX
• 500W amplification
• Ohm FOH PA speakers flown in auditorium
• 4 x lapel radio mics
• Other mic/stand/cable stock as per Live Music spec
• CD / MD playback
• Mix position - control room only

Get-in (see link above for plans)

The Alnwick Playhouse stage and auditorium is situated on the first floor of the building, so there is no easy access. There are 3 options:

• Up internal turned staircase from the lane at the side of the theatre. Small / medium structures maximum length 8ft.
• 'Passenger' lift. Accessible from the lane at the side of the theatre. Unsuitable for flats but fine for flight-cases / instruments / props / costumes / luggage etc.
• Up the external turned fire escape from the large car park behind the theatre. Option for larger flats / structures

Back-stage facilities

• Access from stage-door (side-lane)
• There are two separate dressing rooms for 6 (or more!) each, with showers/ facilities etc.
• There is a large adjoining communal green room with seating area and further changing/storage space as required
• There is intercom connection and AV show relay
• Further temporary comms can be offered as required. (3 packs)

Technician

The Playhouse has one in-house Technician/Operator. If further crew/technicians are required, please arrange with theatre accordingly.

Accessibility

The Playhouse is fully accessible throughout, including all backstage areas. The showers are suitable for wheelchair users. There is an induction loop system for people with hearing difficulties.

Accommodation

Suggestions as follows, or check out the following link: www.visitalnwick.org.uk/accommodation.htm

• Tower Restaurant & Accommodation :: 01665 603888
• Georgian Guest (& Castle Gate) Guest House :: 01665 602398
• Aln Guest House :: 01665 602265
• Bondgate House Hotel :: 01665 602025
• The Oaks Hotel :: 01665 510014
• Tate House B&B :: 01665 604661

Directions

Alnwick is on the A1, 30 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and 30 miles south of the Scottish border. It is only a small town and the theatre stands more or less in the centre, opposite the Fleece public house and next to the Hotspur Tower. Vehicles should be parked in the lane between the Playhouse and the offices of the Northumberland Gazette. More detailed instructions and a map are on our website here.