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ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING!


one of the main driving forces behind the tivoli theatre trust that are trying to bring the place back to life used to be the rector of ellon academy, so our teacher pulled a few strings and got our drama class a guided tour!

it was really intereasting hearing the history of the place, and getting to see it all, a lot of which is untouched for DECADES.

one of the things that really caught myintereast were the 3 DC powered carbon rod limelights that have been untouched since the last show in the 1960's! there was still burnt rod's inside them, gel's allover the floor and a box of unused rod's... very intereasting!

we got to go upto the fly balconys and climb across a scarry as hell bridge to the stage left fly balcony , it was an amazingly intereasting place to see and there were still some of the hemp ropes that were used to fly scenery when it was used as a theatre.

my very favorite bit was when we were right up in the rafters above the auditorium, and you can actually look down the chimney, and see right through the grill in the middle of the roof, down ontop of the auditorium!

for anyone remotley intereasted n theatres or architeture i would strongly advise going if they do annother doors open day (but not iff you;re scarred of heights!!!)

so yeah.. best school trip ever.

[Alan Cynic]

Yep..it's a great place. I went round it on a couple of recent Doors Open days (and actually attended a show there when I was a little'un).

[Marsh]

I've got a stack of Tivoli photos from a dilapidation survey I did when the Tivoli was being considered as an alternative for HMT while the refurb was taking place. If anyone would like a look at some let us know and I'll see about getting some of them up here.

The original carvings on the roof are amazing - they were brilliant white but after years of abuse from bingo hall useage they are pure brown!

The original Tivoli is a far superior building to the original HMT (not now, of course, he says being part of the Design Team )

It's just so sad that it can't get up and running again. It's not gonna be happening in the near future, unfortunately.

the roof paintings have supposedly been brown for years because of the nicoteen... i couldnt believe how many ashtrays there were everywhere!

is money the only reason it wont be getting refurbished in the near future? it is a damn shame, because it would make an amazing threatre

[Alan Cynic]

I overheard 2 architects discussing how the steepness of the upper tiers, and the narrowness/steepness of the stairs would cost a frightening amount of money to be re-done to modern safety standards

aye... there would be a lot of things need changing to bring it upto code im sure...

the bassment being flooded is a huge problem aswel (random fact, my stepdad fixed the pumps there about a decade ago, but they are knackared again...)

[Alan Cynic]

They should get Wet Wet Wet to play the bassment, and replace them with Lightning Bolt at the Castlegate

[Marsh]

I almost fell in to the flooded basement in the process of taking photographs!

The nicotine stains are evident everywhere - it's the old cliche of moving a picture and seeing the white underneath the object!

Alan, you must have overheard one of my colleagues - it would indeed be a nightmare to bring the entire building up to code. DDA would be the killer in the main as in "the olden days" disabled access wasn't really an issue.

It's really not going to happen in the near fututre but rather disturbingly I know I guy on the commitee to bring the Tivoli back so there's always hope. You should see the report we produced in favour of restoring it! It was intense.

You guys seem keen enough so I'll dig out the photos tomorrow hopefully.

Glad to hear others appreciate such an amazing building and such a big part of Aberdeen's history.

[Alan Cynic]

That would be great Marsh...looking forward to seeing them!!!

(The Tivoli is responsible for my disturbing liking for Will Starr....I have been known to do 'the kick" in homage to the great ? Man).

[Marsh]

Alan,

I've uploaded what i could find this morning into my gallery.

Sorry for my lazyness but they're not titled or anything - mostly self explanatory anyway!

I have more basement shots but the one I found shows the depth of the water anyway!

Remember the roof was almost white originally!

You can see how the steep staircases and narrow corridors would cause problems with todays regs.

Enjoy.