Beau Sejour theatre to open after refurb
THE curtain is coming up on Beau Sejour theatre’s £195,000 refurbishment, with the doors ready to open this Saturday.
‘Staff have worked incredibly hard to get it ready on time,’ said head of recreation services Sam Herridge.
‘It’s been a really good effort, especially from the tech and cleaning team. Hopefully all the local theatre companies and all the islanders who visit us will really enjoy the enhanced experience.’
The theatre has a new purple and pink colour scheme, which Education, Sport & Culture’s head of marketing and events Nikki Symons said could be extended into part of the foyer.
‘Ultimately we would like this to be more of a theatre space and less part of reception,’ she said.
The theatre has been shut for the past two months while the refit took place.
A major part of the refurbishment was replacing the theatre's 400 seats, which were 30 years old.
The design of the seats meant there were areas underneath them that could not be accessed and the theatre’s technical team found more than they were expecting when they took them out.
‘There were 30 years of sweet wrappers and plastic toys in there,’ said Ms Herridge.
‘But we also found a few pairs of spectacles, a very old mobile phone and £19.60 in loose change. This won’t happen with the new design of chairs, as we can clean underneath.’
New carpet has been added to the walkways but the floor underneath the seats is now hard flooring.
‘This is the same type of flooring as used in the swimming pool and will be much easier to keep clean.’
As well as the carpet, colour scheme and seating, new low energy house LED lights will help guide theatre and cinema goers to their new seats. One change has also gone on backstage, where two extra dressing rooms have been added, taking the total to eight.
Theatre staff were now looking forward to a busy October.
The first event to take advantage of the space’s new look is a musical fundraiser for local charity Orca, followed by a free screening of Opera L’Elixir d’Amour, Gadoc’s production of the diary of Anne Frank and the return of Guernsey's biggest cinema screen for the half- term family film festival.
n More information can be found at www.guernseytickets.gg
