Refurbishment Blog #03: Where have all the walls gone?

I’ve just been round to a meeting with the main contractors for the Coliseum refurbishment and they’ve shown me some extraordinary pictures.  Neither they nor we are actually allowed into most of the building now, as the asbestos removal is now well underway and access is severely restricted.  The asbestos removers have taken many photographs, some of which are reproduced here.

The auditorium now has far fewer walls than it had a week or so ago and the bulk of the main ceiling is slowly being removed, revealing the original tongue and groove structure that dates from 1887.  Some extraordinary features are being discovered and the whole exercise is becoming quite archaeological.  We’ve found a second, higher ceiling in the upstairs bar although we have no idea why or when this was covered up and there appears to be a far more shallowly raked structure underneath the current floor in the Circle.

Work has started on the front of the building – scaffolding has gone up and the areas of damaged rendering are slowly being chipped away to reveal the brickwork underneath.  The re-rendering of this façade will greatly improve the look of the theatre and also keep out the rain.

We are rapidly moving towards what we’ve started to call the “Asbestos Bridge”.  This is the time, at the end of May, when all the demolition work is completed, the building is declared safe and we finally get access to all of those areas that have previously been hidden by asbestos.  It is then, and then only that we will fully understand the nature of the entire project and know precisely the extent of the rebuild that will lead to the reopening in October.  I’m looking forward to crossing the Asbestos Bridge in comparative safety!

After we’ve crossed this bridge, we’ll be allowed back in the building to see how it’s all going.  This should be in about eight to ten weeks’ time.  I suspect that the Coliseum will be looking at its most forlorn by then as we reach the end of the most destructive phase of the works.  This is when we turn the corner and begin the re-construction.  The actual rebuilding should be well under way in time for the theatre’s 125th birthday on June 20th.  Nearly time to get the colour charts out and plan the re-decoration!

David Martin
Executive Director