Pleasance Theatre

Temporary Performance Space in United House Car Park

Design & Access Statement Background - The Pleasance Theatre Trust

As a registered charity in Scotland, England and Wales, the Pleasance Theatre Trust aims to create a compelling platform to discover, nurture and support fresh artistic talent from across the globe. As a not for profit organisation, all proceeds from the Festival and our London base are invested back into the development of new people and new ideas.

The Pleasance Theatre Islington has been one of the most exciting Fringe theatres in London since it opened its doors in 1995, providing a launch pad for some of the most memorable pro- ductions and renowned practitioners over the past two decades staying true to the Trust’s mis- sion of providing a platform for the talent of the future.

This year-round programme compliments our world-renowned operations in Edinburgh. Since opening in 1985, the Pleasance has become renowned for delivering an inspiring programme year on year that uniquely embodies the spirit of the Festival Fringe. In 2017, the Pleasance pre- sented a programme of 260 shows, with over a third of companies and performers making their debut at the Fringe and over 150 premieres.

The Pleasance currently has 2 full-time spaces in its London home; a 230-seat auditorium theatre for large scale national and international productions and a smaller 54-seat studio theatre for tak- ing risks with new ideas and stories, as well as a thriving theatre bar.

The Bar in Pleasance Theatre Islington The Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh Project Aims

The Pleasance Theatre aims to create an 80-seat thrust performance and rehearsal space in the car park of United House, our London neighbours and landlords.

Constructed from Modtruss, a new universal aluminium modular building component of the nature of steel beams, the space will be based in London for 10 months of the year, then relocate to Ed- inburgh in the summer for the Edinburgh Fringe festival where it is reconfi gured to create a larger performance space in the Pleasance Courtyard. The exterior of the building will be decorated in printed artwork to celebrate the past 34 years of the Pleasance Theatre.

The venue has previously been constructed for The Association of British Theatre Technicians Show at Alexandra Palace in June 2017 and the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a celebration of The Pleasance’s 33rd year at the Festival.

The Venue in Construction at Alexandra Palace Inside the Venue at Alexandra Palace

The Venue as Built for the 2017 Fringe Festival The Venue Broken Down for Transport The Site

The Pleasance Theatre is based in Carpenters Mews off North Road on the First, Second and Third floors of a converted industrial building. The ground floor under the theatre is the Depot public house. The United House car park where the new performance space is to be situated is adjacent to Carpenters Mews, and behind the North Road United House offices.

The car park itself is an internal covered space, with parking spaces rented out to the tenants of United House - a converted Victorian bus factory offering flexible offices, studios and workshops. The car park retains its character as a formally industrial space. The Pleasance has previously rented spaces in the car park for staff usage and a storage container.

Carpenters Mews from North Road Inside Carpenters Mews

The Current Entrance to the United House Car Park View Along Car Park Space

Storage Containers Previously Kept in Car Park Area for Venue to be Built In Scale

The theatre is a single-story studio theatre with an internal floor space of 71sqm. The height of 4.3m is the maximum that could fit in the space without altering any of the original steel roof truss- es, the length of 14m is dictated by the sizes of car parking spaces – therefore the Pleasance is only renting 2 more spaces from United House. The width of 5.6m is designed so the building sits back from the apex of the roof so does not give the impression of dominating the space while also allowing cars to drive past

Layout

The layout of the building is simple – a one room performance space laid out with seating on 3 sides. The majority of the audience will enter through steps at the top of the seating while there is also an accessible entrance with ramp on the car park side. The third door on the car park side will not be used.

To facilitate United House’s tenants use of the car park during the day time and keep theatre pa- trons out of the main car park space, the building will have 2 temporary structures which can be removed: A simple hinged corner flat and a temporary deck with ramp for use as a fire exit from the space and an accessible entrance. This allows the car parking spaces opposite the building to be used in the day time.

These two elements will be easily removable so that they won’t obstruct the vehicle path in the car park during the day, but can be fixed into place easily before evening performances which will start no earlier than 7pm.

During the day time, the current sliding door will remain closed and locked as it exists currently. During the evenings for performances the now stationary sliding door will be open and the corner flats will be connected to the building to permit audience members access to the theatre whilst maintaining a controlled entrance to the rest of the car park for United House tenants.

The corner flat will be comprised of two main parts. A door partition that sits perpendicular to the building and a partition that sits parallel to the building. The door partition will contain a small window allowing patrons to view the whole of the building, as well as a door with a code lock so the public cannot access the rest of the car park. This will be connected to the perpendicular partition which will also be braced to ensure its stability. Both partitions will have artwork on the audience side. During day time the partitions will be stored alongside the main entrance stairway. Operations

Theatre goers will still use the Pleasance Front of House facilities (the box office, bar and toilet facilities) before and after performances and only be lead down to the space just before they are scheduled to begin. There will always be an usher in the space while the public are present.

In line with our current license for off sales, alcohol may be drunk in the space subject to prior written approval from the Licensing Authority. Due to the recent deregulation of the Live Music Act, we do not have to vary our entertainment license as long as performances will not take place outside of the hours 08:00 - 23:00.

To increase accessibility, The Pleasance has agreed patrons with mobility difficulties will be able to use the Depot pub’s accessible WC so that they do not need to travel to the 1st floor.

Appearance

The exterior of the building will be decorated in a combination of printed and painted artwork to celebrate the past 34 years of the Pleasance Theatre and bring some colour and excitement into the car park.

Vehicular and Transport Links

The theatre is well connected by many public transport links:

By Tube: Caledonian Road Underground station is less than a 10-minute walk away By Bus: There are several busses that pass within easy walking distance of the theatre. By train: Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Overground Station is a 10-15 minute walk while Kings Cross/St Pancras Mainline Intercity, International and local services are also closeby.

Inclusive Access

The space will have an accessible ramp so that users with mobility difficulties will be able to enjoy the space.