The
Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base...
,
South YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As well as
theatricalTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
performances, it is home to the most important event in professional
snookerSnooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different ...
, the
World Snooker ChampionshipThe World Snooker Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in the English city of Sheffield, is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. The current champion is John Higgins.- History :The...
.
The Crucible Theatre opened in 1971 replacing the Playhouse Repertory theatre in Townhead Street. In 1967
Colin GeorgeColin George is a British actor and director. He is known for his many roles in numerous theatre productions as well as the founder of the Crucible Theatre ....
, the founding Artistic Director of the Crucible, recommended a thrust stage for Sheffield, inspired by theatres created by
Sir Tyrone GuthrieSir William Tyrone Guthrie was an Anglo-Irish Tony Award-winning theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan,...
.
The
Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base...
,
South YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As well as
theatricalTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
performances, it is home to the most important event in professional
snookerSnooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different ...
, the
World Snooker ChampionshipThe World Snooker Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in the English city of Sheffield, is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. The current champion is John Higgins.- History :The...
.
History
The Crucible Theatre opened in 1971 replacing the Playhouse Repertory theatre in Townhead Street. In 1967
Colin GeorgeColin George is a British actor and director. He is known for his many roles in numerous theatre productions as well as the founder of the Crucible Theatre ....
, the founding Artistic Director of the Crucible, recommended a thrust stage for Sheffield, inspired by theatres created by
Sir Tyrone GuthrieSir William Tyrone Guthrie was an Anglo-Irish Tony Award-winning theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan,...
.
Tanya MoiseiwitschTanya Moiseiwitsch, OC was an English theatre designer.Born in London, the daughter of Daisy Kennedy, an Australian concert violinist and Benno Moiseiwitsch, a famous Ukrainian classical pianist, she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts...
, who had been involved in designing Guthrie’s theatres, was the designer. The architects Renton Howard and Wood were engaged and the building itself began to take shape in 1969. It was completed in two years, on time for the opening performance in November 1971 of
Fanfare an evening’s entertainment comprising -children participating in an improvised scene, Chekhov’s
Swan Song with
Ian McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE , is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received a Tony Award and two Academy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
and
Edward PetherbridgeEdward Petherbridge is a British actor. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in several screen adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels....
and a Music Hall Finale with a Sheffield Brass Band.
This demonstrated the versatility of the stage, which has since been adapted to Dance, Musical performance, as well as classical and modern theatre, and receives touring productions as well as hosting squash and spectacularly the
World Snooker ChampionshipThe World Snooker Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in the English city of Sheffield, is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. The current champion is John Higgins.- History :The...
.
The audience sits on three sides but no member is more than the length of a cricket pitch - 22 meters - from the performer, or indeed a snooker ball. Consequently although it seats 980 people the spectator has a intimate relationship with the activity on stage. Colin George and the Administrator David Brayshaw persuaded the Gulbenkian Foundation to finance for the first time the building of a professional theatre - the 400 seat Studio, which opened with the main house.
In 2001 the Crucible was awarded the Barclays ‘Theatre of the Year Award,’ and is a Grade II
listed building.
The building is undergoing a £15 million refurbishment between 2007 and late 2009 – opening during that period only for the 2008 and 2009 World Snooker Championships.
Theatre
The Crucible is a producing
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
, meaning shows are designed and rehearsed in-house. These productions are normally overseen by the
Sheffield TheatresSheffield Theatres is a theatre complex in Sheffield, South Yorkshire comprising three theatres: the Crucible, the Lyceum and the Crucible Studio...
Group.
Sports venue
The
World Snooker ChampionshipThe World Snooker Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in the English city of Sheffield, is the climax of snooker's annual calendar and the most important snooker event of the year in terms of prestige, prize money and world ranking points. The current champion is John Higgins.- History :The...
tournament has been played annually in the Crucible since 1977. The venue has also hosted championships of other indoor
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
s, such as
table tennisTable tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must...
and
squashSquash is a racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball.Squash is recognized by the IOC and remains in contention for incorporation in a future Olympic program....
.
Players with 1000 frames played at the Crucible
Stephen Hendry,
Steve Davis,
Jimmy White,
John Parrot,
Ronnie O'Sullivan,
John Higgins.
External links