Cotswold Playhouse

Progress is still painfully slow.  The problem now is that key supplies have been delayed and there are some design issues still not resolved.    We have been experiencing quite low temperatures first thing in the morning for the past week or so and this has delayed the start of all work involving cement.  Apparently you cannot work it unless the temperature is higher than 2 deg C.

The following photo was taken on 19th February and shows the fancy brickwork at the top of the walls.  On top of that will be a coping stone the same colour as the remaining stonework.  It should make an attractive finish.

Now that the electricity supply is restored, we have been able to start tidying and cleaning the old part of the building.  It is only another 9 weeks before Oliver! opens for its 2 week run and we have so much to do before then.  The building will be nowhere near complete for Oliver! but the public areas (lounge and bar) will be operational.    It is an interesting challenge but I am really looking forward to putting my feet up when it’s finished.

The wonderful news is that, after a 5 months wait, we now have electricity throughout the building, so we can see what we are doing at long last.  We can now see what a mountain we have to climb over the next few weeks. 

Last Friday, the nice lady from npower to whom I shouted down the phone a week earlier, rang me to say that the electricity is to be restored on Thursday 7th, tomorrow.   So losing my temper obviously paid off.  Probably the first thing I shall do when it is restored, is to get the dehumidifier operating in the Green Room.   This is where the costumes are temporarily stored and the smell in there is decidedly musty.    We are in the process of drawing up an action plan, and sorting out the mess will start next week.   One of the main problems has been that there is no natural light in most of the old part of the building and until we have electric light we cannot see in any detail what state it is in.

The following photo of the outside of the building was taken yesterday morning.   Apart from some fancy brickwork and coping stones, the outside walls are pretty well up to their full height.  The windows should go in next week and the roof will be added soon after.  The slightly sloping roof to the main part of the extension will not be visible from the road as it will be below the line of the parapet.

The next photograph is taken from the top floor and is looking down into the new scenery workshop which is immediately behind the stage. The wooden roof beams can clearly be seen, to which the roofing slates will be added next week.  The steel roller shutter door has been fitted to the large opening and the Turner’s house can just be seen through that opening.