Evolution of the Stage

Malvern is filled with evolution, from Malvern Priory which has evolved from a simple building for monks to what you see today (Over 900 Years of Worship) to connections with Charles Darwin who visited the town for it's water cure and who unfortunately in 1849 lost his eldest daughter Anne to tuberculosis here (Decades of History).

Looking across the building you see here much has changed with the theatre and cinema over the years. In 1884 the foundation stones were laid to what was then called the Malvern Assembly Rooms. A year later they were complete and started hosting touring shows from replicas of London successes, melodramas, Gilbert and Sullivan and pantomimes. In 1923 the Malvern Picture was opened allowing for films to also be shown.

In 1929 the first drama festival was held dedicated to Bernard Shaw during which many of his plays were performed. In 1965 the theatre and cinema were extensively refurbished creating a new cellar bar, the stalls were re-seated and various other ares re-planned. In 1997 the theatre and cinema closed for just over a year for a major refurbishment. A spacious new atrium was created, the theatre gained a new seating layout and most importantly a new larger fly-tower was built to accommodate scenery from many of the larger touring productions.

The bronze box you see across the 1st floor of the building is the theatres latest evolution. Opening in 2023 it contains new performance spaces and other workshop rooms. I'm still amazed how much it has changed in the 40+ years I've lived in Malvern, I still remember as a child going into the cinema through a door (which now doesn't exist) in the right had end of the white wall (blow the bronze box) behind the place where you now securely leave your bikes.

Europe / UK-England

Lat: 52° 6' 37.438" N
Long: 3° 20' 38.286" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G fisheye lens. Mounted on a Nodal Ninja 5 panorama head and R-D16 rotator atop a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. Shots taken at 6 positions 60° apart, tilted 15° down, and another shot taken looking straight up. Raw files then processed in darktable v4.6.1 before being stitched together using PTGui 10.0.19 Pro and converted using Pano2VR 6.1.15 pro.