Hall for Cornwall

The Hall for Cornwall is a major venue in Truro, Cornwall having one large main auditorium which places host to west end musicals, opera, ballet, entertainers and music acts. The Hall for Cornwall attracts just close to 180,000 theatre-goers each year.

In September 2008 Hall for Cornwall will be producing an major new production of The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe - Barabas. It is one of the funniest and most controversial plays ever written and will feature a Cornish, national and international cast.

Directed by Anna Coombs, HfC's Head of Projects, this will be a rip roaring night of theatre, with live new music, a great cast of actors and a carnival atmosphere.

"Rather than pick the more obvious Shakespeare, we've gone with Marlowe, whose life was packed with incident and controversy. Marlowe lived dangerously, being repeatedly arrested and finally murdered before the age of 30. His plays were popular and endlessly talked about. Questions raised in Marlowe's texts are still debated today." Anna Coombs.

With Barabas, Hall for Cornwall returns to the theme of working with a Renaissance text, and follows on from the successful production of Responses in 2007.

Keep updated with the production process by reading Anna Coombs' Director's blog http://hallforcornwall.ning.com/

History

The building we see today was built in 1846 from Carn Brea granite originally housing the Town Hall, magistrates and stannary courts, police offices, cells and the fire brigade.

In 1909 plans were drawn up to change the building into a public hall. This culminated in it being leased for a skating rink and occasional picture house. In 1914 disaster struck when a fire gutted most of the building and in 1925 remodelling took place to accommodate a stage “suitable for the presentation of plays”.

During the 60s, 70s and earlier 80s the hall deteriorated and by the mid 80s, Carrick District Council broached the idea of selling City Hall for development.

Ben Luxon, Chris Warner and some Carrick councillors met to discuss the future of the hall. Carrick offered them a 125 year lease on the Hall at £1 a year and £500,000. They accepted and the campaign for a new City Hall began.

Five years after taking over the hall, the contractors moved in. Work on the high tech venue took just over 18 months and the inaugural performance took place on November 15th 1997.

In 2007 Hall for Cornwall celebrated its tenth birthday with a year of celebration including specially commissioned work, a highly successful Open Day in August and a Celebration Gala Concert in November, attended by HRH Prince Edward.

External links

* [http://www.hallforcornwall.co.uk HallForCornwall.co.uk]