Another quick look at some detail of the theater: this is one of several domes in the underside of the balcony... excellent for livening up unamplified voice and music here, but not much help with  a PA. Beautifl, though- should've used a flash for this, but you get the idea.









Finally, we're ready for the show. Got time for a break before sound check...








A look backstage, at the old-school hemp-and-sandbag fly system. If it's well maintained, a system like this (instead of cables attached to steel counterweights, with brakes on the lines) will work great for a long time. a little trickier to operate, and if those bags rot and split a seam while counterweighting a "live" line, somebody could get killed. But they know what they're doing here- new bags and dry sand, and they don't let just anybody mess with the lines.
Not visible here is the peg-rail for securing the lines, much like that on an old sailing vessel.







Most of this system has been overhauled, but this is pretty much the way it's been done here for almost 120 years.






They're showing movies here again... got a new perforated screen, and a proper 3-channel film sound system to set up behnd the screen. Wow. I should come see a movie here, and maybe try to get some work running the projectors...





next: showtime!

Ahhhhhhhh a proper fly system...... I've always wondered why in the US they attach sandbags to the lines. Here in the UK we only attach sandbags to keep tension on the lines over the stage as a temp measure before attaching a bar.

The joys of hemp splinters and spending a week after the production getting them out.

Another rather interesting fact ...... Here in the UK the hemp system has been in use for over 300 years. You don't whistle in a theatre because the flying system was operated by sailors and their way of communicating was by whistles.
Sound the wrong whistle and you just might get something dropped on your head.