The Theatre Changing The Show

I think that the venue can have a massive impact - I guess it's probably subjective to each of us but every venue has a "feel", and for me, places like G Live that have more of a multipurpose hall vibe rather than that of a traditional theatre just create a whole different atmosphere. Equally I saw WWRY at the Dominion and loved it despite its flaws...saw it again at Manchester Arena and detested it, the space just swallowed it up.

G Live is a terrible venue. I can imagine a one man Hamlet would work better in an aeroplane hangar than G Live

So many factors go into the enjoyment of theatre - your mood, your company, your pay check, the weather, the theatre, the performers, the audience around you, the evening, the period in the contract of the actors (is it the 11th month), the temperature, the air, how comfy the seats are/aren't, the theatre design - so many things. I saw Wicked on Broadway and adored it and saw it on the West End and didn't like it at all! So strange and a vortex of reasons.

I've always found shows at Liverpool Empire to be disappointing. The sound quality there is dreadful and it always seems a cavernous space to fill. Footloose died a death there it was awful.

I really feel this almost every time the WMC brings a play in. The size of stage and configuration of the theatre as a whole nine times out of ten ends with it feeling 'lost' in there, and I end up feeling if I'd seen them in the New Theatre, or perhaps over in Bristol I'd have a far better experience of the shows.

I've never seen a play there, but when I was a teenager I never liked it as as a band venue, probably because I like indie bands and they're better suited to somewhere intimate. Even quite big names seemed lost on it. The newly reopened Everyman is great, a comfy theatre in the round with very good sightlines - I haven't been to the Dorfman, going next week for the first time, but I think it's by the same designers.

Yes - the best concerts I saw there were when we were right at the front (got a bit squashed, though!). Relatives who are into dance and big 'showy' shows like it, but I generally prefer small theatres where you can see the actors' spit.

Ditto Hamlet in town. People nearly drowned!

Having toured a few shows, the venue affects massively. This can tie right back where the designer or director might go "We start at Leicester Curve so fill that stage and make it perfect for their?" "What about the village halls with a stage 1/4 of the size and with sightlines that'll be blocked by our main set piece?" "Design for Leicester, that's where we are getting reviewed". I toured a show where the design team pretty much actively ignored the smaller houses so we had to wedge in a show that was too big and was all the worse for it, with the reviews pretty much invariably being a star lower in them.

Even the little things can be a problem, like the dressing rooms being 3 flights of stairs away so the principles don't get to rest or the in house team being slow on the fit up meaning tech got pushed late and was rushed so cast and crew are frazzled for first performance and starts the week badly. Or the audience are that bit further away from the stage so the energy isn't the same for cast.