The Young Vic, known for its gritty, experimental approach, was built as a temporary space in 1970 and was never meant to last more than five years, so was beginning to fall apart by the 1990s
A Vic-torious restaging
Budding thespians at the Perse School, Cambridge, have a seriously professional new theatre space. It鈥檚 no surprise the final result looks high end, as architect Haworth Tompkins has worked on many other theatres and earned a 2007 RIBA Stirling prize nomination for reworking London鈥檚 Young Vic theatre.
The Young Vic, known for its gritty, experimental approach, was built as a temporary space in 1970 and was never meant to last more than five years, so was beginning to fall apart by the 1990s.
However, the theatre had little money for lavish refurbishments. Yet it achieved a rare feat: its revamp came in on budget 鈥� and on time. The cost was around 拢2,100/m2, which was 拢900/m2 less than any other theatre built in the UK around that time.
It achieved this by retaining the original auditorium.
Digging under the site held another challenge 鈥� the theatre was built on a WW2 bomb site and exploratory excavations had to check no unexploded bombs or bodies remained.
好色先生TV said: 鈥淟ike a great play, it鈥檚 a clash of personalities and a combination of styles coming together to create an exciting whole鈥�.
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