The stage here at Blackfriars has undergone a well-deserved make over! Having been down for over 6 years it was time for the old boards to be retired and replaced with shiny new ones.  It is important for us as a theatre to provide the best possible facilities for both local groups and professional shows to perform on.

With a busy 2024 show schedule planned we had a window of just 5 days to get it done! The project started with our tech team taking up the old stage floor, which was arguably ‘the fun bit!’ 

Once the floor was up it revealed the original floorboards which were all checked for stability before the new

 plywood floor was prepped, sealed, cut, and laid!

Being a Stage it is important that the centre line is exactly centre stage and straight! During this phase a challenge arose: The theatre’s walls deviate by around 3 inches. The team didn’t let that deter them and with the help of Andy our contractor they continued, measuring twice, and cutting once.

The last step in the makeover was painting the stage.

A white coat of sealant paint went on first to act as a primer on the wood, followed by Kip spending over 2 hours painting the edges black. The rest of the stage floor was then covered in 2 coats of black paint and wax mix and left to dry. After a few days and a final third topcoat was applied ready for our first live performance Comedy Night!

We are so happy with the finished product, and we can’t wait for you to see it!

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