The Albert Halls - The BackgroundThe Albert Halls in Bolton is a multipurpose theatre and entertainment venue playing host to a large variety of events including concerts and musicals, comedy, ballet and pantomime.
The original hall has been split into two levels, with the result that the main auditorium does not have the height to accommodate a standard retractable seating system. The previous solution to this had been a low-rise, non-telescopic rake, with removable chairs on both the rake and the flat floor. When the seating was not needed, the chairs had to be unbolted and wheeled away on trolleys one or two at a time. The turnaround time was a significant drain on the theatre's resources.
A Tailored Retractable Seating SolutionAudience Systems' solution for the refurbishment of the hall was a "double row depth" retractable system with, as the name suggests, two rows of seating on each tier. For the first time, it was possible for the venue to benefit from a fully integrated telescopic seating system, complete with fold down chairs.
For the flat floor area, the Matrix Floorbar system was used. This unique system consists of groups of three or four chairs which are slotted into removable floorbars. Its construction means that the system can be assembled in a fraction of the time that it takes to install chairs which must be bolted to the floor. The removable floorbars also negate the need for fixing points in the floor itself. Once removed, the chairs can be stored and transported on trolleys with up to 42 chairs on each.
Faster TurnaroundsWith both solutions in place, the venue's turnaround time from one formation to another is "very much reduced", according to a representative from Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. This is a tremendous advantage considering the number of times in the year the hall has to be reconfigured - with the wide variety of entertainment on offer, different configurations needed include theatre, cabaret, concert and wrestling layouts.
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