THEATRE RE-GENERATION REACHES ANOTHER MILESTONE
Dear Member or Supporter
The Theatre regeneration project reaches another milestone with the dismantling of the scaffolding "cage", which was erected for the work to repair and renovate the ceiling of the auditorium. The ceiling remains substantially "as found", maintaining the unique atmosphere of the Victorian theatre, but made safe and adapted to allow lighting and other technical equipment to rigged up.
The construction work now reaches the final stage of completion and fitting out, and the team at Alexandra Palace are now turning their attention to finalising the programme of events and performances for the opening later in the year.
Nigel Willmott, Chair
FREE WRITING WORKSHOPS 29 MARCH
For new writers
Opportunity for Friends of Theatre to work with award winning playwright
WORK WITH MAMA QUILLA ON A VOICES OF BRITAIN CHORUS
In partnership Mama Quilla, Alexandra Palace is offering FREE writing workshops for new writers.
(They are particularly interested in female working-class writers).
The workshop will be held on Thursday, March 29, 10:00 A.M. & 6:00 P.M at the Alexandra Palace (head for Transmitter Hall, left of BBC mast).
The workshop will create material for a Voices of Britain chorus which will be incorporated in a state-of-nation play by Kay Adshead to be performed at the Shop Front Theatre Coventry (Theatre Absolute) on Saturday, April 7.
The workshops will be facilitated by award-winning director/writer, Kay Adshead.
For details contact
MEMBERS' TOURS
The first of three tours for members of the Friends took place on March 9 and was a great success. Ten members were given a guided tour in hard hats and protective boots by AP's head of fundraising, James Atkinson.
They were accompanied by FAPT committee member and filmmaker Richard Smith, who is making a series of short videos on the history of the Theatre and the progress of the regeneration project (see below).
There is only limited capacity for these tours because of the ongoing building work, so regrettably they are limited to paid-up members only.
But with the prospect, we hope, of future tours and other special events, this could be the incentive for more supporters to sign up as full members.
Membership remains at a bargain £5 a year (£2 unwaged), and you can join either by cheque or by PayPal. We prefer PayPal because that helps reduce administration time and costs. See the Friends website for details.
PAST AND PRESENT IN FAPT'S VIDEO SERIES
As we look forward to the re-opening of the newly restored theatre, our latest short YouTube video asks what was on stage when it opened for the first time.
You might expect music hall, but we reveal an astonishing and ambitious diversity of shows – and how it became a cinema in 1900.
This is the fifth in our history series and all can be found on our YouTube channel.
The refurbishment progress inside the theatre is featured in another new video, currently in post-production. Filmed during a tour for a group of Friends, details of when it will be released will appear on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/aptheatre
We’re also asking you to share your memories of the theatre and the Palace, and why you became a Friend and your hopes for the future. We’ll also be answering questions and hoping for feedback to the videos. Again, please visit us on Facebook to find out more.
Dear Friends and supporters
Christmas and New Year is a time when we can all look to some downtime and relaxation, but the pace of development of the Theatre and activity around it shows no sign of letting up.
In this email newsletter we bring you news of the latest video on the Friends' YouTube channel, which takes you inside the Theatre to see how building work is progressing in a virtual tour. Many thanks go to Fapt committee member and filmmaker Richard Smith for his continuing excellent work. His preview of the video is below.
Finally, Alexandra Palace continues to offer the chance to sponsor a seat in the Theatre; and our history of the Victorian Theatre at Alexandra Palace, Drama at the Palace, is still available on the Friends website and on Amazon.
A very Happy Christmas and New Year to all
Nigel Willmott
Chair
UNDER THE FLOOR AND UP CLOSE WITH THE CEILING
We are inside the theatre seeing how the regeneration work is progressing for the latest Friends’ video.
We get under the floor and up close and personal with the ceiling. You’ll find it hard to believe that this is the same, empty and derelict space you will remember and that is featured in the first three history videos on the same YouTube site.
We’ve also been searching through the archives and looking at what was on the bill in the theatre over a hundred years ago. In the process, we also discovered the Alexandra Palace March. The results of our research are being shaped into a video (including a recording we’ve made of the march) that will be released early in 2018. If you visit the site and become a subscriber, you’ll get a notification as soon as it’s released, rather than having to rely on emails like this.
There’s also the Friends of Alexandra Palace Theatre Facebook page, where we put updates, news and photographs. We’d like it if you posted your thoughts and memories on it, too.
Please feel free to share both our YouTube videos and Facebook page, to help spread the word about the theatre and its amazing history and restoration.
Finally, do you or your relatives have any theatre memorabilia (formerly known as clutter) tucked away in a drawer, loft or garage? It might be programmes or news cuttings of any age . . . who knows what’s still out there? The Palace archivists are hungry for more and we’d like to feature them in a future Friends’ video. Please come back to us if you have anything at all.
Richard Smith
FAPT committee member
Find the video here.
Enjoy mulled wine, Christmas shopping and support the Friends of the Alexandra Palace Theatre at North London's friendliest garden centre.
**And get a festive discount on all you buy.**
On THURSDAY DECEMBER 7th, from 6pm to 8pm, the Alexandra Palace Garden Centre is holding a special Christmas shopping event. You can pick up your Christmas tree and everything you need to decorate it. And there will be complimentary mulled wine, hot chocolate and tasty nibbles.
There will be a 15% discount on everything you buy for loyalty card holders (you can join on the night) - or 10% for non-card holders.
The Garden Centre is giving a generous donation of a percentage of the takings on the night to the Friends that will go towards the promotion and renovation of the Theatre.
Friends of the Theatre committee members will be there, and you can find out how the renovation is going, renew your membership, or just drop by for a chat.
If you haven't visited the Garden Centre before, it is on Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7BB, just down the hill from the Palace Palm Court. It has its own car park and is conveniently on the W3 bus route - though you might not get your Christmas tree on the bus.
We look forward to seeing you on December 7th for a drink, a chat and some early Christmas shopping.