The Hannah Playhouse, Wellington, New Zealand

THE HANNAH PLAYHOUSE

Designer's Tips

Home of Downstage Theatre: Corner of Courtenay Place & Cambridge Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand. P.O.Box 9441 Wellington 6141. Phone (04) 801-6946. Fax (04) 801-6948.
E-mail downstage@downstage.co.nz Website www.downstage.co.nz

In 1964 Downstage Theatre Society was formed with the aim of starting a professional theatre in Wellington. Its first home was the Walkabout coffee bar on Courtenay Place where the Hannah Playhouse stands today.

In 1968 The Hannah Playhouse trust was formed to build the Hannah Playhouse on that site using a gift from Sheilah Winn of $300,000. with the Downstage Theatre Co being its tenant. Downstage designer Raymond Boyce was theatre consultant to the Architects Ron Parker and James Beard. In 1969 Downstage moved temporarily to the Star Boating Club and in 1971 construction began on the Courtenay Place site.

The design brief was for a theatre restaurant with the auditorium allowing for various performance arrangements. The foundation is a reinforced concrete slab and the building structure is reinforced concrete floors suspended on concrete columns. The auditorium itself is on the 2nd floor and is internally placed with complete around-theatre circulation for audience and actors. This arrangement also helps in soundproofing the auditorium from the busy surrounding streets. A mezzanine gallery of timber runs along the north, south and east walls of the auditorium.

The roof structure is steel framed ( with timber purlins and clad with aluminium ) and is linked to the lighting grid extending right across the auditorium 5.500m above the theatre floor. The grid allows for flexible lighting arrangements and the flying of scenery at the "proscenium" end. A removable timber trap ( approx. 7m x 6m ) in the 2nd floor slab allows the auditorium to open to what is now the bar space below. The stage position is not fixed and may be located at will.

The Hannah Playhouse opened on 15 October 1973 with a production of ‘As you like it’. Downstage ran as a full theatre company until 1994, but now has a small core staff , with different artists and production personnel working short term contracts.
(notes by Kirsty Chamberlain Dec 97)

Designer's Tips

updates, comments or other info: venues@venueweb.co.nz

Audience seating rostra is constructed from individual steel framed rostra 0.900m x 1.800m, which use scaffold pipe for legs - there are enough pre-cut legs to provide for any seating arrangement, the height increasing in 0.300m increments. There are enough rostra that the stage may be constructed also, and standard pre-cut legs to allow for a stage of 0.300m, 0.600m, or 0.900m.
The theatre was originally designed to seat only 175 (complete with tables for dining). Current seating is from 230 to 280 depending on the layout. With these many people, it is generally not advisable to use the floor as the stage because of sightline hassles. If many seats are to be placed on the floor, (perhaps around tables) the stage should not be lower than 0.900
All scenery has to come into the theatre via half ton electric hoist through a trap in the theatre floor above the dockway [see images below] - this is 2.400m x 1.200m. If your scenery pieces won't fit through here, you will have to cut them up!

[Below] Auditorium cross-section views - click for larger images

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Hannah plan. Revision date: /06/00

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hannah.zip (74k) Revision date: /06/00

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Drawing Notes:n/a

The Hannah Playhouse - Revision date /12/10

Company

Venue Name

The Hannah Playhouse

Street address:

12 Cambridge Tce, Wellington, New Zealand

Postal address:

P.O. Box 9441, Wellington, New Zealand

Web Site:

www.downstage.co.nz

E-mail:

downstage@downstage.co.nz

Telephones:

Phone: + 64 4 801 6946
Fax: + 64 4 801 6948

Physical Venue Description:

Purpose built intimate theatre with eccentric / flexible auditorium on 2rd floor, offices / dressing rooms and public bar on 1st, box office / foyer / cafe on ground.

Operating Structure:

Home to Downstage Theatre

Key Personnel:

See Downstage website

Public Areas:

small box office foyer on ground floor, small public bar / toilets on 1st, auditorium on 2nd

Catering:

by own arrangement or can be arranged for corporate / whole house bookings etc.

Ticketing:

Box Office Located on the ground level of Downstage Theatre, 12 Cambridge Terrace, corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace. Hours: Tue - Fri 12noon till showtime or 5pm if no show, Sat 2pm till showtime or 5pm if no show. Closed Sun&Mon, although phone bookings are available on Mondays. Cheques, eftpos and all major credit cards are accepted. Phone, fax, email and online bookings with your credit card may incur a $2 transaction fee. Online bookings can be accessed from the downstage website (www.downstage.co.nz/)
Email: bookings@downstage.co.nz, Phone 04 801 6946, Fax 04 801 6948 If you ever have trouble booking online, please call our box office.

Disabled access:

Public lift to all levels. Please notify staff pre show of your requirements, wheelchair spaces in auditorium available.

History:

see above

Other:

Technical

Auditorium Description:

On 2rd floor. Concrete floor with large trapped area centre opening to floor below. Eccentric shape rhomboid floor plan, large concrete stairwells, and wooden walls supporting narrow balcony @ 3.000m. Steel floor over whole auditorium @ 5.500m with 1.400m sq cutouts for lx access. Limited flying space through 7.000m by 1.300m opening in area between stair towers.

Seating Capacity:

Depends on show. Usually about 250 - 280

Stage:

no fixed layout - stage / seating can be placed anywhere

Hanging Plot:

n/a

Getin:

via half ton electric hoist through 2.400m by 1.200m opening in floor above dockway. Goods service lift to auditorium floor. Sometimes easier to manhandle large lighter items up main stairs.

Dressing Rooms:

Two on 1st floor - 6 persons each. incl washbasins. Separate male & female showers / toilets adjacent. Extra people can be accommodated in temporary area outside main dressing rooms.

Stage manager:

tannoy to all artists areas.

Misc

iron / ironing board, automatic washing machine / dryer.

Other:

Very limited storage and backstage space. No workshop or other support space, although limited technical area within grid.

Lighting

Lx Control:

See Downstage tech specs document for details (available on their website) , or click here for December 2010 update

Dimmers:

Luminaires:

Sound

Control:

See Downstage tech specs document for details (available on their website) , or click here for December 2010 update

Output:

Accessories:

Effects Units

n/a

Hanging Plot:

n/a

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This page last updated Wednesday, December 15, 2010