Round...

Despite the flexibility of the auditorium we haven't in recent years staged much in the round. But we have used the round for All My Sons, so we asked Joel to take a picture as people were taking their seats.

Banksy in the bar?

Well it's not quite Banksy (I would be making more of a fuss if it was) but in keeping with the print for the current show of Mixed Up North (see one of the images from the shoot above), the lovely people at Phoenix Centre have provided us with some great graffitti for the bar. They look really bright and vibrant and I would love to take one to hang on my wall at home...

Experiments in the Lab

You might remember me talking about the work that is going on here at the Octagon. I posted about the changes to the Dressing Rooms and the Bill Naughton Studio Theatre aka the Studio. These are pretty much finished now so I need to post some updated pics but we also made some changes to what was the Rehearsal Room.

It has been given a lick of paint...

And a tidy to brighten it up...

We have moved the door which makes an unbelievable difference. You can just about see the outline of where the old door was and the new door...

It looks fresh and bright and all ready for the experiments to begin. The Lab will be used as a space for rehearsals still but will also be used for workshops, experimentation, risk-taking and sharing new work.

More details on workshops and other events taking place in the Lab and the Octagon's other spaces will be announced soon. Watch this space...

The Octagon Studio

On Friday I wrote about the changes to backstage here at the Octagon and in particular the dressings rooms. Next up, some less radical changes to the Bill Naughton Studio Theatre aka The Studio. We are putting in some permanent seating here. So here are the platforms for raked seating

Here they are with the beginnings of some carpet

And here is the carpet...

The chairs waiting patiently to be installed. I think we are aiming to increase capacity to 100 seats. Having seen some of the additional events we are doing next season in the studio I still wonder if 100 is enough but more of that later....

Essential building tools. Drill, dustpan and a cuppa...

The Octagon Spa

I mentioned in my last post about the building work we are doing here over summer. I knew about The Lab and The Studio but I wasn't aware of the work going on in the dressing rooms. Mainly, as I don't spend a lot of time back stage as I get lost. Fortunately, Richard, our Deputy Production Manager and Project Manager of The Octagon Grand Design project was on hand to help so we did a whistle stop tour (he is a busy man as you can imagine once you see the photos) of the dressing rooms. Here are a few snaps...

Here is Richard trying to escape the camera. He doesn't look scared at all! In fact considering the amount of work and the fact the toilet waste has been leaking into his office leaving rather an unpleasant smell and hole in the floor, he looks remarkably chipper...and clean...

You can see below why Richard being so clean is something of a surprise. It's a bit messy....

The new showers with lovely limestone tiles. They are almost going to be nice enough to encourage me to start biking to work again. Before, you took your life in your hands on the bike and your mental health and reputation into your hands when you used the showers. There wasn't a lock and very little room to get sudsy so it was a case of shower roulette. Anyone could walk in....

Considering health and safety at all times. I am sure it is not at its most effective when used like this. But I am sure the chair is glad its lungs are well protected!

Work in progress....I love 'before' and 'afters' so am looking forward to seeing this bit finished. Also, see how I manage to get in the photo whilst being behind the camera...

Oh the glamour of theatre....

Fingers crossed it will all be finished by the time people arrive for the new season.

Random Friday round up...

Although we are now 'dark' until the opening of our new season it doesn't mean things are quiet here at Octagon Towers. On Twitter, Out of Joint (our co-producer of Mixed Up North above) has highlighted that director Max Stafford-Clark is blogging for The Guardian no less! You can read what he has to say about young female playwrights here...

Thing are all change here in the Comms Dept as our leader, Monika, is leaving to have her baby today. I mean she is leaving today not having her baby today. However, I haven't yet seen her this morning so it is possible that she is having it as I type. I hope not as we haven't had our 'You're nearly having a baby' team lunch yet! Anyway, good luck Monika and Tom (but mainly Monika as she does all the work). With you two as parents, I am hoping you are bringing into the world a new generation of super marketing gurus!

So on Monday we will welcome a new/old face. This face belongs to Jon Gilchrist, who funnily enough used to do my job before going off to the The Lowry and then The Dukes in Lancaster. But Bolton is his home and we are delighted that he is coming back to keep an eye on things in Monika's absence. I will get him to introduce himself when he starts on Monday....

However, the changes are not just afoot in the Comms team but there are a few changes around the building too. What was the rehearsal room is being given a bit of a facelift and a new name 'The Lab'. Now as far as I know we will not be carrying out scientific experiments (the thought of David running around in a white coat in a Doc Brown from Back to the Future stylee amuses me plenty) The Lab is a place for experiments of the creative variety. Can't say much more about this at the moment but watch this space for what's coming up.

The Bill Naughton Studio Theatre (The Studio) is also getting some attention with a new permanent seating arrangement which creates more seats for all the exciting stuff that is coming to The Studio from September. We'll be launching our special events programme (it has a brand new name and everything) in a few weeks so either sign up to our enews letter, keep an eye on the blog or follow us on Twitter to be the first to know.

I will post photos of the building progress so you can have a look...