THEATRES are perhaps the most difficult of all buildings that an architect

THEATRES are perhaps the most difficult of all buildings that an architect is ever called upon to plan. A considerable knowledge of stage craft is above all things necessary, for there is not only the auditorium to arrange, so that everyone shall be able to see and to hear, and with entrances and exits so contrived that there shall be no crushing, and that the theatre may be emptied in case of emergency with extreme rapidity ; but there is behind the scenes a large and practically a separate building, which must have a large space devoted to scenery and the necessary machinery for shifting it, together with dressing-rooms for numerous performers.
It is now considered essential that a theatre should be detached from all other buildings, at least on three of its sides, while it is much better if it is entirely isolated ; as the risk of fire is considerable, and has to be guarded against not only within the building itself but outside also, in order that, if a fire arises, it shall not be communicated farther ; while isolation also permits of the fire engines and escape ladders being brought to all parts. The risks of fire and of panic have proved to be of so serious a nature that everything possible is done to minimise them, the modern theatre being constructed almost entirely of fire - resisting materials, such as
brickwork, steel, and concrete, even the hangings and upholstery being saturated with a substance which renders them non-flammable. It is also customary to separate the stage from the auditorium by a fire-proof curtain, down which a stream of water can be made to pour by merely opening a tap, so that if a fire originates in either of the great sections of the building it should not be communicated to the other, there being no direct means by which the one can be reached from the other, except perhaps below the stage level. Water sprinklers,
to which attention has been called in an earlier volume of this book, are usually fitted in several parts of the building, particularly in what are known as the " flies " and on the "grill" above the stage; for it is always necessary to carry up this part, of the building to a great height for the accommodation of lifting scenes. Artificial lighting has also to be considered in the planning, though as a rule this is now done by electricity and is a comparatively easy matter to
arrange. Still, there should always be two sources of light, so that in the event of an accident happening to the electric wires the house may not be left in utter darkness, but an alternative method of lighting, such as that by means of gas, should be immediately available.