A Virtual Tour of the Old Nick Theatre
ELLO, ELLO, ELLO...!
The Old Nick Theatre, home of GTC, started its life far back in Victorian times as Gainsborough's police station and courthouse, and the original features are still very much in evidence. The courtroom is now the auditorium, an intimate theatre-in-the-round space capable of seating 55, though more often used in arena or thrust style with the audience on three sides of the action. Downstairs, the new box office replaces the original reception rooms and, still hidden from view, are the original cells, some complete and still decorated with acerbic graffitti from previous residents!
With a feasibility study in place and funding being sought, it is likely the Old Nick premises may look very different in a few years time. While aiming to retain the building's original features, the downstairs may be developed into incubator ofices for new businesses, while theatre theatre accommodation will hopefully benefit from a drastic refusbishment which will extend its hire potential and appropriateness for purpose. Until then, here are some photos from the building as it appears at present...
VIRTUAL TOUR
The Old Nick as seen from the corner of Cross Street and Spring Gardens.
The stairway up from the entrance to the Old Nick on Spring Gardens.
Looking down from the top of the stairway. Left is the foyer and theatre box office, right is the entrance to the downstairs store rooms and original cells.
The Old Nick's intimate Cell Bar, housed upstairs next to the Coffee Room and along the corridor from the auditorium.
The top two images show the auditorium from the entrance side - the door at the right of the first picture leads to the main dressing room. The single row sits opposite the acting area when working in 'thrust' or arena style. The third image is the the stage left side with an entrance leading to a second dressing room and upper storage areas as well as the emergency exit. It is on this side that most paranormal activity in the auditorium has been registered - interestingly, a number of unexplained 'orbs' appear on this image!
Also on the stage left side, above the emergency exit, is the lighting box, from where all the technical aspects of the shows are controlled. This has to be raised because of the intimacy of the auditorium.
A view of the main dressing room from the stage right exit - looking a little the worse for wear as it was photographed during the run of our last play, hence the clutter. For large cast productions, the second dressing room on the opposite side of the stage comes into use. This means entrances often entail performers running around the outside of the building to reach the correct side of the auditorium!
Underneath the public areas, this is one of two corridors (left) leading to the cells and exercise yard (right) from when the building was Gainsborough's police station and courthouse. These areas have been more closely explored during the Gainsborough Ghost Walks, as part of a variety of vigils and paranormal investigations, and by a small group of brave drama students from North Kesteven School in Lincoln, who spent an eventful weekend using the unique Old Nick building as inspiration for a series of drama workshops.
A cell interior with window boarded up, and the continuation of the corridor, ending in further cells and a sink. The skull is a remnant from the Ghost Walks and not one of the former residents!
To see more of the Old Nick and look round in person, why not pay us a visit any Tuesday from 7.30-9.30pm. You can take a tour, chat to our members and experience readings, workshops or rehearsals for our latest shows. Alternatively, if you're feeling brave, why not take part in the Gainsborough Ghost Trail, a historically researched walk around Gainsborough's haunted locations, culminating in a dramatised experience at the Old Nick? Full details can be found via their website at www.ghost-trails.co.uk