Hall for Cornwall
Encyclopedia
The Hall for Cornwall is a major venue in Truro
, Cornwall
having one large main auditorium which places host to West End
musicals, opera
, ballet
, musical acts and other entertainers. The Hall for Cornwall has a capacity of 969 (reduced to 925 when the orchestra pit
is in use) and attracts around 180,000 theatre-goers each year.
There is a restaurant and coffee shop and regular flea markets.
In September 2008 Hall for Cornwall produced a major new production of The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe: Barabas, which featured a Cornish, national and international cast. With Barabas, Hall for Cornwall returned to the theme of working with a Renaissance text, and followed on from the successful production of Responses in 2007.
originally housing the Town Hall, magistrates and stannary courts, police offices, cells and the fire brigade. In 1909 plans were drawn up to change the building into a public hall. This culminated in it being leased for a skating rink and occasional picture house. In 1914 disaster struck when a fire gutted most of the building and in 1925 remodelling took place to accommodate a stage “suitable for the presentation of plays”.
During the 1960s, 1970s and earlier 1980s the hall deteriorated. It was used in the 1970s and early 1980s as a venue for Truro's famous 'flea market' which proved extremely popular (the bar area and outside entrance is still used for the Truro antiques market right up to the present day). However, by the mid 1980s, Carrick District Council
broached the idea of selling City Hall for redevelopment. Ben Luxon
, Chris Warner and some Carrick councillors met to discuss the future of the hall. Carrick offered them a 125-year lease on the Hall at £1 a year and £500,000. They accepted and the campaign for a new City Hall began. Five years after taking over the hall, the contractors moved in. Work on the high tech venue took just over 18 months and the inaugural performance took place on November 15th 1997. Today, the 'flea market' still takes place every week in the Boscawen Foyer, at what is now the rear of building.
In 2007 Hall for Cornwall celebrated its tenth birthday with a year of celebration including specially commissioned work, a highly successful Open Day in August and a Celebration Gala Concert in November.
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Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
having one large main auditorium which places host to West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musicals, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, musical acts and other entertainers. The Hall for Cornwall has a capacity of 969 (reduced to 925 when the orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
is in use) and attracts around 180,000 theatre-goers each year.
There is a restaurant and coffee shop and regular flea markets.
In September 2008 Hall for Cornwall produced a major new production of The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe: Barabas, which featured a Cornish, national and international cast. With Barabas, Hall for Cornwall returned to the theme of working with a Renaissance text, and followed on from the successful production of Responses in 2007.
History
The building we see today was built in 1846 from Carn Brea graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
originally housing the Town Hall, magistrates and stannary courts, police offices, cells and the fire brigade. In 1909 plans were drawn up to change the building into a public hall. This culminated in it being leased for a skating rink and occasional picture house. In 1914 disaster struck when a fire gutted most of the building and in 1925 remodelling took place to accommodate a stage “suitable for the presentation of plays”.
During the 1960s, 1970s and earlier 1980s the hall deteriorated. It was used in the 1970s and early 1980s as a venue for Truro's famous 'flea market' which proved extremely popular (the bar area and outside entrance is still used for the Truro antiques market right up to the present day). However, by the mid 1980s, Carrick District Council
Carrick, Cornwall
Carrick was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Truro. The main centres of population, industry and commerce were the city of Truro and the towns of Falmouth/Penryn....
broached the idea of selling City Hall for redevelopment. Ben Luxon
Benjamin Luxon
Benjamin Matthew Luxon CBE is a retired British baritone.-Biography:He studied with Walter Grünner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich...
, Chris Warner and some Carrick councillors met to discuss the future of the hall. Carrick offered them a 125-year lease on the Hall at £1 a year and £500,000. They accepted and the campaign for a new City Hall began. Five years after taking over the hall, the contractors moved in. Work on the high tech venue took just over 18 months and the inaugural performance took place on November 15th 1997. Today, the 'flea market' still takes place every week in the Boscawen Foyer, at what is now the rear of building.
In 2007 Hall for Cornwall celebrated its tenth birthday with a year of celebration including specially commissioned work, a highly successful Open Day in August and a Celebration Gala Concert in November.
Thanks for reading