Situated in the picturesque Merton Abbey Mills, The Colour House is an intimate 70 seat studio theatre.
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Contents
2. Welcome 3. Outside – Merton Abbey Mills 4. History of The Colour House Theatre
5. Theatre Space 6. Theatre Space 7. Resident Piano
8. Front of House and Backstage 9. Theatre Plan and Measurements 10. Technical Equipment
11. Lighting Rig 12. Contact Information
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Merton Abbey Mills is a picturesque Arts & Crafts Village on the river Wandle, with a bustling weekend market, live music, fantastic places to eat and exciting activities for all the family. Shops are open
daily, selling crafts, furnishings, jewellery and there is
a Hair & Beauty Salon, Tattoo Parlour, Personal Training Studio and Picture Framers on site. With a wide range of food on offer, including Caribbean, Brazilian, Thai, Italian and a traditional carvery, the relaxing sound of our fully restored waterwheel can be heard in the background whilst you chill at
London’s Alternative Market.
Market: Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm
Merton Abbey Mills is also the home of Abbeyfest! This annual two month festival which runs through July and August and offers free live music every Friday night on the bandstand, theatre every single night of the week inside The Colour House and special events for all the family to enjoy! The festival, organised by The Colour House management, is now in its 17th year!
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The Colour House Theatre is a Grade II listed building seating between 50-70 people based on your personal requirements.
We offer a delightful venue for 1 night to 1-
month runs including rehearsal spaces and box office staff for a fraction of the price you would expect at a small London fringe venue. Our Theatre is not a black box above a noisy pub but an idyllic canal side venue for all types of functions. There is also a small theatre bar and backstage kitchen.
From plays, to comedy, cabarets, music gigs
and our weekly Blue’s Club, we are
experienced in making our space suit you!
Opening in the summer of 1995, our resident children’s theatre has now staged over 80 original musical adaptations of famous fairy tales. Over 100,000 people have been through our doors (not bad for a 70 seater venue!) The one hour shows run for 10 weeks each – only breaking in July and August for Abbeyfest - and always take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and 4pm. The children’s theatre achieved charitable status in 2008 and has gone from strength to strength. It’s a wonderful theatrical venue, open to all the family with a real emphasis on entertainment and enjoyment which has seen our shows acclaimed time and time again. Many children have grown up with us as we’ve become a shining beacon for children’s theatre over the years.
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A red auditorium with red hand pulley curtain (top left) and
4.5m X 4.5m stage (top right) surrounded by black curtains.
31 tiered blue seats are on a platform with steps leading to
each level.
40+ red folding chairs create up to six rows of seating in front.
The blue seating folds back into itself within two minutes and the
red chairs can be stacked away to create a versatile empty working space that holds 100
people standing.
Please turn over for further uses of our space!
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The theatre is perfect for personal club style shows and cabaret nights. We often have our blue tiered seating pulled out and put small tables and chairs at the
front, nearest the stage, for that typical club look.
As an empty space our theatre has been the home to discos, theatre
schools, toddler groups, coffee and chat groups and general get- togethers and for businesses and
religions.
We can also easily place a long table down the middle of the space
for conferences, meetings, rehearsals and castings.
With a state of the art projector we have held many business
presentation nights at the venue, and with a few comfy chairs The Colour House has also
been a local cinema in its time.
With your choice of professional
lighting the theatre makes a perfect studio for film crews to shoot their next production.
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Resident Piano
Art and Fashion
Exhibitions!
Cat Walk Nights! Conferences!
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Front of House
Newly painted Box Office and Bar area selling tea, coffee, lager, beer, cider, wine, spirits and snacks.
Backstage
Roomy backstage area with two dressing rooms, toilets, light bulb mirrors, and a kitchen area. | 8
Theatre Layout and Measurements
Stage Size
4.5m X 4.5m
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Technical Equipment
Programmable Lighting Desk (Zero88 Fat Frog) Sound Desk (Allen & Heath GL2400-40) House PA (4 Speakers + 2 Monitors on requirement) Mini Disk CD and Aux Cable Connection Projector and Screen - 1080p HD Stage Size Smoke Machine 4.5m X 4.5m PC
Light Name Quantity Diogram Key for next page
1 KiloWatt Profile 5
650 Watt Fresnel 5 (Barn Doors Optional)
650 Watt Profile 3
650 Watt Profile (Old) 6
2 UV Cannon
Martin Mac 250 Watt 2 Profile
Mirror Ball 1
We also have hundreds of colour gels.
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Lighting Rig
Key on previous page.
STAGE
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Contact Information
Peter Wallder – Artistic Director Charlie Shakespeare – Theatre Manager
0208 542 5511 0208 543 9608 0208 544 1222 [email protected]
MERTON ABBEY MILLS (A24 Merantun Way) London SW19 2RD
TUBE A short walk from Colliers Wood Northern Line Station.
BUS 57, 152, 155, 200, 293 & 352 stop a few minutes’ walk away.
TRAIN About 1.5 miles from Wimbledon Mainline Station
PARKING IN THE AREA 2 Hours free in adjacent ticketed car park. 4 hours free opposite in Sainsbury’s and M&S car park. Free in surrounding residential roads, such as Runnymede, SW19.
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