Overview

In this lavishly illustrated hands-on account of the creation of new theatre spaces spanning a century, Iain Mackintosh offers a compelling history that is part memoir, part impassioned call to rethink the design of our theatre spaces and the future of live theatre. As the originator of theatre designs as diverse as the Cottesloe in 1977, Glyndebourne in 1994, the Orange Tree Theatre in 1991, the Martha Cohen Theatre in 1985 and the Tina Packer Playhouse in 2001, he discovered why the same show worked in some theatres but not in others. It is this unique blend of experience that informs this account of many of the best-known theatre spaces in Britain, besides many international examples including the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis and the Oslo Opera House. Running throughout is a consideration of factors which have shaped design thinking during this time and which demand attention today. After the long theatre closures driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mackintosh argues that now is the time to discover the routes travelled over the last century. Published in partnership with the Society of Theatre Research, the book features a foreword by Sir Richard Eyre, Director of the National Theatre, 1987–1997.

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9781350056244

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Reviews

Iain Mackintosh describes his book as a memoir, but it is also a comprehensive handbook for theatre makers and audiences the world over. A one stop shop for anyone interested in how the delicate and vital relationship between audience and performance has evolved over centuries. Upon his shoulders I have stood for 30 years. His argument and understanding is as vital today as it always has been. Essential reading. * Stephen Daldry O.B.E. * Like the man himself, Iain Mackintosh's memoir is erudite, trenchant, occasionally infuriating but always entertaining, enthusiastic and informative. Anyone who wants to understand more deeply the complexities and subtleties of theatre architecture should read this book. * Steve Tompkins, Director, HaworthTompkins * Iain's memoire is a potpourri of historical thesis, personal recollection and entertaining gossip. It gives a glimpse of the theatre world and the agonies and ecstasies of achieving buildings suited to purpose. * Anne Minors, Founding Director, SOUND SPACE VISION, Theatre Planning and Acoustics * This book clears a luminous space of insight at the point where the pragmatics of architecture meet the poetics of the theatrical moment. Iain Mackintosh gleans highly consequential lessons about the challenge of engineering intimacy in the modern theatre auditorium from his long and rich practice. He also grounds them so deftly in their particular, British, history that they begin to acquire a universal appeal. With its stylish writing and generous, well-chosen illustrations this book vivifies and clarifies a theme that has been as elusive as it is important. * Himanshu Burte, Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, India * A revelatory and much needed guide to the structure of theatres both in Britain and abroad. Iain Mackintosh reveals how certain architectural choices can be traced to having an effect on a performance: for example it's easier to play comedy in a narrow proscenium, very hard to raise a laugh on the wide stages of the Olivier or the Lyttelton, and how crucial it is to the success of a play that it is performed in its correct home. It's an amazingly detailed research of great value to anyone performing on stage today and a necessity for future architects. * Dame Eileen Atkins *

Iain Mackintosh describes his book as a memoir, but it is also a comprehensive handbook for theatre makers and audiences the world over. A one stop shop for anyone interested in how the delicate and vital relationship between audience and performance has evolved over centuries. Upon his shoulders I have stood for 30 years. His argument and understanding is as vital today as it always has been. Essential reading. * Stephen Daldry O.B.E. * Like the man himself, Iain Mackintosh's memoir is erudite, trenchant, occasionally infuriating but always entertaining, enthusiastic and informative. Anyone who wants to understand more deeply the complexities and subtleties of theatre architecture should read this book. * Steve Tompkins, Director, HaworthTompkins * Iain's memoir is a potpourri of historical thesis, personal recollection and entertaining gossip. It gives a glimpse of the theatre world and the agonies and ecstasies of achieving buildings suited to purpose. * Anne Minors, Founding Director, SOUND SPACE VISION, Theatre Planning and Acoustics * This book clears a luminous space of insight at the point where the pragmatics of architecture meet the poetics of the theatrical moment. Iain Mackintosh gleans highly consequential lessons about the challenge of engineering intimacy in the modern theatre auditorium from his long and rich practice. He also grounds them so deftly in their particular, British, history that they begin to acquire a universal appeal. With its stylish writing and generous, well-chosen illustrations this book vivifies and clarifies a theme that has been as elusive as it is important. * Himanshu Burte, Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, India * A revelatory and much needed guide to the structure of theatres both in Britain and abroad. Iain Mackintosh reveals how certain architectural choices can be traced to having an effect on a performance: for example it's easier to play comedy in a narrow proscenium, very hard to raise a laugh on the wide stages of the Olivier or the Lyttelton, and how crucial it is to the success of a play that it is performed in its correct home. It's an amazingly detailed research of great value to anyone performing on stage today and a necessity for future architects. * Dame Eileen Atkins *

Iain Mackintosh describes his book as a memoir, but it is also a comprehensive handbook for theatre makers and audiences the world over. A one stop shop for anyone interested in how the delicate and vital relationship between audience and performance has evolved over centuries. Upon his shoulders I have stood for 30 years. His argument and understanding is as vital today as it always has been. Essential reading. * Stephen Daldry O.B.E. * Like the man himself, Iain Mackintosh's memoir is erudite, trenchant, occasionally infuriating but always entertaining, enthusiastic and informative. Anyone who wants to understand more deeply the complexities and subtleties of theatre architecture should read this book. * Steve Tompkins, Director, HaworthTompkins * Iain's memoire is a potpourri of historical thesis, personal recollection and entertaining gossip. It gives a glimpse of the theatre world and the agonies and ecstasies of achieving buildings suited to purpose. * Anne Minors, Founding Director, SOUND SPACE VISION, Theatre Planning and Acoustics * This book clears a luminous space of insight at the point where the pragmatics of architecture meet the poetics of the theatrical moment. Iain Mackintosh gleans highly consequential lessons about the challenge of engineering intimacy in the modern theatre auditorium from his long and rich practice. He also grounds them so deftly in their particular, British, history that they begin to acquire a universal appeal. With its stylish writing and generous, well-chosen illustrations this book vivifies and clarifies a theme that has been as elusive as it is important. * Himanshu Burte, Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, India *

Author Information

Iain Mackintosh co-founded the Prospect Theatre Company in 1961, taking 75 productions to over a hundred theatres around the world. He then became a designer of theatre spaces in many countries with Theatre Projects Consultants and has been invited as a guest speaker to conferences across five continents. In 1973 he conceived the design of the National Theatre's Cottesloe space, which opened in 1977. Other spaces which he conceived include Martha Cohen, Calgary, Canada (1985), Orange Tree, UK (1991), Glyndebourne, UK (1994), Lawrence Batley, Huddersfield, UK (1994), The Quays at the The Lowry, Salford, UK (2000), Tina Packer Playhouse, Lenox Massachusetts, USA (2001) and Hall Two of The Sage Gateshead, UK (2004). Renovations in which he was closely involved include de Magd Bergen-op-zoom the Netherlands, Dunfermline Opera House transported to Sarasota Florida, Festival Theatre Edinburgh and Royal Court London, UK. He was the first Briton to serve on the jury of the Prague Quadrennial of Scenography and Theatre Architecture in 1995.

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