Hall for Cornwall
Coordinates: 50°15′46″N 05°03′02″W / 50.26278°N 5.05056°W
The Hall for Cornwall is a major venue in Truro, Cornwall having one large main auditorium which plays host to West End musicals, opera, ballet, musical acts and other entertainers. The Hall for Cornwall has a capacity of 969 (reduced to 925 when the orchestra pit is in use) and attracts around 180,000 theatre-goers each year.
There is a restaurant and coffee shop and regular flea markets.
In September 2008 Hall for Cornwall produced a major new production of The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe: Barabas, which featured a Cornish, national and international cast. With Barabas, Hall for Cornwall returned to the theme of working with a Renaissance text, and followed on from the successful production of Responses in 2007.
The Hall for Cornwall is one of a number of organisations involved with Cornwall Council's proposed National Theatre of Cornwall,[1] and it registered the name as a trademark in September 2011.[2]
History
The building we see today was built in 1846 from Carn Brea granite originally housing the Town Hall, magistrates and stannary courts, police offices, cells and the fire brigade. In 1909 plans were drawn up to change the building into a public hall. This culminated in it being leased for a skating rink and occasional picture house. In 1914 disaster struck when a fire gutted most of the building and in 1925 remodelling took place to accommodate a stage “suitable for the presentation of plays”.
During the 1960s, 1970s and earlier 1980s the hall deteriorated. It was used in the 1970s and early 1980s as a venue for Truro's famous 'flea market' which proved extremely popular (the bar area and outside entrance is still used for the Truro antiques market right up to the present day). However, by the mid 1980s, Carrick District Council broached the idea of selling City Hall for redevelopment. Ben Luxon, Chris Warner and some Carrick councillors met to discuss the future of the hall. Carrick offered them a 125-year lease on the Hall at £1 a year and £500,000. They accepted and the campaign for a new City Hall began. Five years after taking over the hall, the contractors moved in. Work on the high tech venue took just over 18 months and the inaugural performance took place on November 15, 1997. Today, the 'flea market' still takes place every week in the Boscawen Foyer, at what is now the rear of building.
In 2007 Hall for Cornwall celebrated its tenth birthday with a year of celebration including specially commissioned work, a highly successful Open Day in August and a Celebration Gala Concert in November.
External links
References
- ↑ "National Theatre hope highlighted by report". West Briton. February 2, 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ↑ The Hall for Cornwall Trust, Follett Stock. "2595122 21 September 2011 (41)". The National Theatre of Cornwall theatre and entertainment services. The Intellectual Property Office. Retrieved 2 February 2012.