Ruskin Lane Consulting Autumn 2013 | Page 27

FEATURES PROJECTS of the building and arrive at the rear of the stalls. Previously they had to enter via the side lane, which was far from ideal. The main foyer was also repainted, which has enriched the space and drawn attention to the ornate cream and gold plasterwork. As with many restoration projects much of the work is unseen to the visitor, such as wiring upgrades and improved ventilation. This has, however, made a great difference to audiences’ experience of performances at the King’s. One area that was not included in the main refurbishment works was the decoration of the auditorium. However, during the works, it was necessary to repair an extensive area of plasterwork on the auditorium dome. The requirement to let this repair dry properly before it was repainted meant that the auditorium decoration required to be reviewed during the 2013 dark period. Research showed that the decoration to the dome had been applied as part of the 1980s refurbishment, and contained some areas of the 1950s scheme. It was a rather bland trompe l’oeil that gave little impact to the auditorium. Following discussions with Historic Scotland, it was agreed that a new scheme could be undertaken, given that there was a history of different dome schemes in the theatre. The works also had to include the complete redecoration of the original auditorium. Having undertaken a number of art commissioning projects in the past, I suggested that this was the perfect opportunity to collaborate with a prominent Scottish artist to produce a bespoke art work for the King’s. This would add to not only the audience experience of the theatre, but draw it to the attention of the general public. There really was only one person to approach, both in terms of being at the top of their game in Scottish art and also in understanding theatres – John Byrne. He said yes immediately to the idea, and within three weeks had drawn a dramatic and inspiring design that the client approved without change. Timescales were restricted to five weeks for the painting and, in June 2013, work began on redecorating the entire auditorium. A free standing bird cage scaffold was erected and two teams of specialist painters and decorators began the works. This included cleaning all the plasterwork and repainting every inch of the auditorium. John Byrne’s work was gridded into two metre sections and projected onto th