Stage Electrics equips Chester Storyhouse
- Details
The Chester Storyhouse theatre was built in 1936 and is a Grade II listed building. It was originally the city’s Odeon cinema but had been disused since 2007 - until a £37m RE:NEW project initiated by Cheshire West and Chester Council set about converting and extending the original building.
Stage Electrics were tasked with installing and supplying sound, production lighting, AV equipment, paging and technical infrastructure for the entire project.
The specialist integrator delivered the production lighting equipment, AV infrastructure and Front of House audio systems. In addition to the fully automated, DCI compliant cinema system, Stage Electrics also installed a versatile HD video distribution network throughout the venue. Further, architectural feature lighting and touchscreen control was specified and installed to the exterior of the striking ‘glass box’ cinema to illuminate the structure.
“The fact that half of the project was a new build theatre and the other half was a refurbishment of a Grade II listed building made this project really interesting,” said Ian Dunne, Stage Electrics’ project manager for the project. “The attention to detail maintained by everyone involved in the project and the blend of old and new has created a breath-taking venue.”
Although the theatre has been open since 2017 Her Majesty the Queen and new granddaughter-in-law Meghan Markle, cut the ribbon to mark the official opening this week. Being the first official engagement involving just Her Majesty and the Duchess of Sussex, this event attracted media attention from around the globe.
During its first year, a staggering one million visitors passed through the Storyhouse’s doors, making it one of the UK’s largest cultural visitor attractions.
(Jim Evans)
