Alina was at the fantastic Font theatre festival recently, and got chatting to Laura Macrae, a producer with Notts based companies Nonsuch and Sheep Soup. One of those chance encounters that were always meant to happen: Laura with a building and a performance space idea, just looking for an architect... and Alina an architect looking to expand her involvement in the theatre.
We've worked with several arts organisations on the adaptation of existing buildings to meet their needs, most notably at One Thoresby Street. And it is an exciting time for our home neighbourhood on the Eastside of Nottingham: a cluster of independents including OTS, Backlit, Surface Gallery and the Bohunk Institute have led the way and the council is now adding a critical mass via the Creative Quarter and the weighty Dakeyne Street and Sneinton Market redevelopments. Dance4's ambitious dance centre project may be on ice, but the organisation was ahead of the curve in seeing the potential of the area.
We look forward to supporting Laura's plan in the formative stages and — with the support of NTU's Future Factory — hope to work with recent graduates from the Interior Architecture and Design and Theatre Design courses to develop initial ideas for the building. My involvement with community group Sneinton Alchemy and our community engagement expertise will help Laura to make this the supportive and embedded project she aims for.
Watch this space, it won't stay quiet for long...
