The 2006 Palace Theatre Restoration

2006 saw the completion of the Palace Theatre's £4m capital restoration scheme utilising just over £3.1 million of Redditch Borough Council capital funds and an award of over £920,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The major transformation over an eleven month period required two schedules of work to run simultaneously. Firstly the restoration and refurbishment of the auditorium returning it to its original Edwardian splendour; and the demolishment and total rebuilding of the theatre foyers with much improved visitor facilities put in place

Experts agree that the Palace is of national importance, as it is a rare example of Edwardian theatre architecture. It is one of only six working examples that can be wholly attributed to its famous designer Bertie Crewe left in the country. It is a significant historic building, standing at an architectural crossroads at a time when theatre construction was beginning to decline and cinema construction was just beginning.

Working on the project were local building firm William Sapcote and Sons Ltd who held a proven track record on restoring historic buildings, having previously worked on the Back to Back Houses in Hurst Street, Birmingham, the Molineux Hotel in Wolverhampton, and Lord Lichfield’s stately home Shugborough Hall. Historical theatre consultant, David Wilmore from Theatre Search, brought a thorough understanding of the historical background of the building and its architect Bertie Crewe. The input that David made was absolutely crucial to the success of our project, in particular the restoration of the fibrous plasterwork and motifs,

The restoration included the reinstatement of the original colour scheme in the auditorium, chandelier and stained glass embellishments to its rose bowl, as well as recreating the grand entrance into the stalls. Other crucial historic details include oak panelling at the back of both the stalls and circle designed to help retain the atmosphere for the audiences on the back rows, as well as the replacement of seats in the centre of the circle which had been replaced in the 1970s with a central audience aisle.

The Alcester Street frontage was restored to match the Bertie Crewe original with all outfacing windows being replaced with beautiful stained glass and floodlighting being reinstated using four large luna arc lamps.

Architects Sansome Hall based in Milton Keynes produced a scheme that centred on the detailed restoration of Bertie Crewe’s 1913 theatre combined with a new three storey building to replace the existing 1970's facilities on the front of the building. The brand new accommodation includes a contemporary foyer, bar and lounge, and on the top floor a multipurpose space now branded "the room upstairs" (because that's what it is !) for studio scale performances, use by the Palace Youth Theatre, private hire and community use. This extension has been carefully planned to link with the levels of the auditorium to provide simpler, more direct access and to exhibit the richness of Crewe’s interior to its best advantage.

The auditorium’s new colour scheme is cream, gold and burgundy. All the seating has been refurbished and recovered in velour with the seat numbers embroidered in gold on the back, luxurious new curtaining festoons the boxes and brand new front of house tabs with swags finish off the effect. The theatre’s seating capacity has also been increased from 399 to 425.