Image: Warwick Arts Centre

The lowdown on the Goose Nest

While the Arts Centre is undergoing major refurbishment and renovation as part of the 20:20 project, the Goose Nest will act as a temporary theatre for both professional and student-led performances.

The conception of the Goose Nest was a direct result of plans to renovate the Warwick Arts Centre back in 2011 under Operations Director Andrea Pulford. The 20:20 project is a three-year programme that aims to refurbish the sections built in 1974, and improve upon already-existing facilities to meet modern day standards for audience members, visitors and performers.

New facilities being built include a new Mead Gallery, a bistro at the front of the extension, and three new cinema spaces

New facilities being built include a new Mead Gallery, a bistro at the front of the extension, and three new cinema spaces. As well as this, the Arts Centre will extend towards the University Plaza meaning the Mead Gallery, Bookshop, and cinema will be temporarily closed in October next year. Other spaces like the Butterworth Hall and the Helen Martin Studio will remain exactly the same.

During the construction period, temporary theatre the Goose Nest will house the centre’s biggest productions. The student-named Goose Nest was built in just three months, but meticulous planning has ensured this doesn’t look the case. Thanks to the precision of its design, every corner of the theatre is easy to navigate. Its size allows for the staging of bigger productions than those found in the Helen Martin studio. The 296-seater auditorium is the perfect intimate setting, with its deep stage and warm colour grading. It’s the sort of stage that would invite the audience into the performance, as opposed to excluding them from it. As such, the venue is best suited for smaller productions that place a greater emphasis on intimacy, rather than spectacle.

While there is a general feel of temporality, which is perfectly understandably, it doesn’t detract from the theatrical ambience

The Goose Nest comes fully equipped with all the gear and resources you’d expect from a professional venue. It features a control box complete with a professional lighting system, and a spacious backstage area for performers. The makeshift storage rooms are truly a delight to witness on a technical level: their exterior is quite literally a large metal container, and within it is where the props are stored. The dressing room spaces are designed to feel warm and intimate. Pulford remarked that the team were very sensitive to public feedback when designing these spaces, and this level of consideration is immediately evident. While there is a general feel of temporality, which is perfectly understandably, it doesn’t detract from the theatrical ambience.

It’s clear that serious thought went into replicating the same atmosphere that theatregoers experience in the Arts Centre. Simply put, the Goose Nest goes above and beyond in creating that sense of closeness. Considering the short time frame of construction, it’s nothing short of a technical feat, as well as an artistic triumph.

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