Crucible Theatre

Crucible Theatre
	Main entrance to the Crucible Theatre in April 2014
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap
Address	55 Norfolk Street; Sheffield, S1 1DA; England
Owner	Sheffield Theatres
Designation	Grade II listed building
Type	Thrust Stage
Capacity	980
Construction
Opened	1971
Architect	RHWL
Website
	http://www.SheffieldTheatres.co.uk

The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's most prestigious tournament, the World Snooker Championship, which has been held annually at the venue since 1977. Its name is a reference to the local steel industry.

History[]

The Crucible Theatre at night

The Crucible Theatre was built by M J Gleeson and opened in 1971.^[1] It replaced the Playhouse Repertory theatre in Townhead Street. In 1967 Colin George, the founding Artistic Director of the Crucible, recommended a thrust stage for Sheffield, inspired by theatres created by Sir Tyrone Guthrie. Tanya Moiseiwitsch, who had been involved in designing Guthrie's theatres, was recruited to design Gleeson's theatre, as well.^[2] The architects Renton Howard Wood Levin Architects were employed and the building itself began to take shape in 1969. It was completed in two years, with the opening performance in November 1971. Fanfare, an evening's entertainment showing children acting in an improvised scene, Chekhov's Swan Song with Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge and a music hall finale with a Sheffield brass band.

This demonstrated the versatility of the stage, which has since been adapted for dance and musical performances, as well as classical and modern theatre. The Crucible Theatre also hosts touring productions and the World Snooker Championship.

The audience sits on three sides but no member is more than 22 yards (20 metres) from the performer. Consequently, although it seats 980 people the spectator has an intimate relationship with the activity on stage. Colin George and the administrator David Brayshaw persuaded the Gulbenkian Foundation to finance the building of a professional theatre – the 400 seat Studio, which opened with the main house.

In 2001, the Crucible was awarded the Barclays 'Theatre of the Year Award'.^[3] It is a Grade II listed building.^[4]

The Crucible Theatre before and after refurbishment

Image taken April 2005

Image taken July 2010

The building went through a £15 million refurbishment between 2007 and late 2009 – opening during that period only for the 2008 and 2009 World Snooker Championships.^[5]

The Crucible reopened as a theatre on 11 February 2010 with a production of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, with the official reopening by the Earl of Wessex on 18 February 2010.^[6]

Theatre[]

Under the distinguished leadership of a succession of artistic directors, The Crucible is a producing theatre, meaning shows are designed and rehearsed in-house. Productions are normally overseen by the Sheffield Theatres Group which also comprises the smaller Studio Theatre, housed in the same complex, and the large capacity neighbouring receiving venue the Lyceum.

Sports venue[]

The 2013 World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship tournament has been played annually at the Crucible since 1977, and the venue has been lauded for creating a special feeling of excitement around the event. Sports journalist Peter Mason, in The Guardian,^[7] has argued that while the physical aspects of the Crucible are "greatly underwhelming", there is an undeniably special atmosphere inside the auditorium which means that "against all the modernist odds this relentlessly forward-looking theatre appears to have become infused with memories of the past every bit as easily as if it were a creaking old music hall dating back to the 19th century". The Ladies World Snooker Championship was also held at the Crucible between 1998 and 2003 but was eventually withdrawn due to financial difficulties. The venue has also hosted championships of other indoor sports, such as table tennis and squash.

References[]

^ "Gleeson spurns takeover advance". Yorkshire Post. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
^ Sheffield Theatres – venues Archived 5 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ Sheffield City Council Executive Recruitment – About the City Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Historic England. "The Crucible Theatre (1392311)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^ Gardner, Lyn (9 February 2007). "Gone West". The Guardian.
^ Earl re-opens Crucible Theatre
^ Mason, Peter (2 May 2014). "Austere breeze-block veneer conceals the magic of the Crucible Theatre". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2014.

Bibliography[]

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: A Model Theatre in the Tradition of the Juvenile Drama, Michael D Everett, MDE Pubns (1981), ISBN 0-906933-01-3
The acoustical design and performance of the Sheffield Crucible Theatre, D. J. Oldham, Dept. of Building Science, Faculty of Architectural Studies, University of Sheffield (1973), OL 13964103M, OCLC 20304835

External links[]

Coordinates: 53°22′52″N 1°28′00″W / 53.381012°N 1.466594°W / 53.381012; -1.466594 (Crucible Theatre)

[1] "Gleeson spurns takeover advance". Yorkshire Post. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2012.

[2] Sheffield Theatres – venues Archived 5 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[3] Sheffield City Council Executive Recruitment – About the City Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Historic England. "The Crucible Theatre (1392311)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

[5] Gardner, Lyn (9 February 2007). "Gone West". The Guardian.

[6] Earl re-opens Crucible Theatre

[7] Mason, Peter (2 May 2014). "Austere breeze-block veneer conceals the magic of the Crucible Theatre". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2014.

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show v t World Snooker Championships
Early events	1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952
Match-play	1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957
Challenges	Apr 1964 Oct 1964 Mar 1965 Nov 1965 Dec 1965 Apr 1966 Mar 1968
Knock-outs	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
Crucible era	1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Related articles	List of winners List of players Triple Crown Crucible Theatre Crucible curse World Professional Match-play Championship Black ball final (1985)

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