Theatre / News
New theatre to be built in Tobacco Factory
A new auditorium is set to be built inside the Tobacco Factory to compliment the existing Factory Theatre.
The director of Tobacco Factory Theatres unveiled plans for a major refurbishment at a public meeting on Tuesday evening, revealing that there will also be a larger bar area and new office space.
The project is dependent on securing £850,000 of funding, with a provisional timeline suggesting that performances will be held in the new 80-seat theatre space in November of this year.
is needed now More than ever
The news comes as the Tobacco Factory Theatres’ current second site, the Brewery Theatre, has been forced to close to audiences.
“We feel really confident that we will be able to fulfil the timeline,” said director Ali Robertson. “We’re not 100 per cent right now but we were keen to dispel the rumours that have been floating around. When I heard that we were supposedly moving to Easton I felt it was time to let people know what we’re planning.”
The new space at the Factory site has been designed as its more economical replacement for the Brewery Theatre, with that space still due to be used as a technically facilitated rehearsal space – something that many theatre companies currently have to travel to London to find in the run up to a show.
Some of the advantages of the rebuild listed by Robertson include the opportunity for artists and audiences to mingle more freely, and the advancement of the company’s reputation for supporting emerging works.
Coinciding with the refurbishment will be the Tobacco Factory’s first off-site season – Tobacco Factory Theatres Beyond – which will see the organisation put on several shows at various venues across Bristol including the Loco Klub underneath the Passenger Shed at Temple Meads, the Greenbank pub and Zion in Bedminster Down.
An extra two weeks has been scheduled in on top of the Tobacco Factory’s annual four-week closure for completing the work, and Robertson is confident that the theatre would come back more successful than ever.
“Come the rebuilding of the Tobacco Factory, refurbishment of the Old Vic and the new fantastic Wardrobe Theatre fully firing I think the next couple of years will be really exciting for Bristol theatre,” said Robertson.
“We have no doubt that this project will be a major step forward for us and allow us to do even more amazing things.”