Although the original plan had been to erect a tented theatre, this was abandoned when the Royal Court decided it wanted a more permanent structure and contracted local company Algeemi Code to design, build and fit-out the new facility. Soon after the metal framing had been put in place, it was realized that there were opportunities to improve the design and one of the Public Works Department's architects contacted Theatre Projects: within a week Mark Stroomer, design director, was in Abu Dhabi.
Over the course of that weekend, Stroomer re-worked the auditorium design, before returning to the UK to re-plan the backstage areas. Several days later, Stroomer, accompanied by Theatre Projects' technical director, Jerry Godden, and acoustician Paul Gillieron of Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design, returned east for a three-day series of meetings with the various heads of design for the electrical, ventilation and lighting systems. As the Royal Court wanted to schedule the opening for April 2003, things had to move quickly. Theatre Projects was given four weeks to produce specs for the lighting, audio, film and video projection, plus stage equipment and theteam returned to the UK for a one-day brainstorm to establish the critical parameters. Gillieron created a digital acoustic model of the room, to enable him to perfect its response to the various types of performances and within two weeks Theatre Projects had submitted draft proposals/specs, complete with 13 drawings. Before the end of the four week deadline, they presented full specifications, including 25 drawings.
Jerry Godden has been impressed with the response of his colleagues: "We welcomed the challenge of contributing specialist advice and solving problems to help this project, despite the fact that it was already underway. Once it's finished, this is going to be a fantastic facility: there's an integral cinema with roller screen, behind which are three tower speakers, as well as Dolby surround sound speakers around the room. In addition to 35mm film projection, the facility also accepts video tape, video disc, land line, satellite and broadband signals to accommodate all means of presentations and lectures. To top it all off, there are two simultaneous translation booths, enabling delegates to pre-select a language they understand."
(Ruth Rossington)
