Meanwhile the Covent Garden entrance, tucked into the corner of the piazza colonnade, has been given new prominence. It also brings the life of the foyers closer to the street through the provision of views as well as by means of a new roof terrace. Below the Floral Hall, Stanton Williams has replaced the previous set-back poster cases with an elegant, projecting glazed entrance pavilion. The building’s original front faces Bow Street, where it is dominated by EM Barry’s raised portico of 1858 and by the Floral Hall, originally part of the Covent Garden markets but reconstructed as part of the ROH in the 1990s. Stanton Williams’ first move has been to open up access into the ROH. The advent of free wi-fi and flexible working has accelerated the trend in recent years, with the likes of the National Theatre being busy from the moment they open in the morning until the end of the last performance at night. The years after 1945 saw the growth of subsidy for the performing arts, but subsidy only ever formed part of a theatre’s income. Much was made of the idea that theatres could be significant community buildings, in which people would want to meet friends and perhaps enjoy exhibitions or foyer concerts.Īt the same time, the trend was a pragmatic one. At the end of the 1950s, Coventry’s newly-built Belgrade Theatre opened its foyers all day, offering coffee and meals, and other theatres followed suit. In Britain, the tendency to treat theatre foyers as something more than spaces to be used immediately before and after performances is largely a post-war phenomenon. As far as front-of-house areas are concerned, the aim is to open up the building to its surroundings, bringing something of the vibrancy of this part of central London into the building all day long.
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