Since September 2008 the Old Vic Theatre's famous proscenium auditorium has undergone a makeover, being transformed into the CQS space, an in-the-round performance area that means the audience surround a circular stage on all sides. Originally transformed for a revival of Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests, which was written with an in-the-round stage in mind, it was decided that the configuration should be preserved and utilised for subsequent productions. It is currently home to a revival of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, following which the auditorium will be returned to its original configuration.

For the Old Vic the transformation, which was funded by asset management group CQS and the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, was a huge project, taking five weeks to install and using a massive 25672 screws, 5000 bolts and 150 litres of grey paint. Playwright Alan Ayckbourn has always been a proponent of theatre in-the-round. "Stephen Joseph - who had an enormous influence on me - would say that ... the only thing that mattered about theatre, when it came to it, was the actor and the audience. The round, more than any other medium, emphasises this most strongly." Ayckbourn was artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough which houses an in-the-round stage from 1972 until 1 April this year.

Unlike The Norman Conquests, Dancing at Lughnasa was not written with an in-the-round performance space in mind. Director Anna Mackmin, found the process of transferring the production to the new configuration challenging, but rewarding. "Anybody who saw the original will know it was iconic. The play is absolutely written for a proscenium arch. It's bonkers putting this play in-the-round, but we did it."

When a work is transformed into the round, several changes automatically have to be made. "One of the jobs of the director is to point focus, but in-the-round everybody is connecting with different aspects of the production" says Mackmin. As a result, the audience experience is incredibly personal, with the possibility of several different perspectives arising from one performance. "There was a lot of creative swearing trying to make it work. When I did allow myself to breath, take my eyes off the actors and look at the audience, I was reminded that this is a truly great way to make theatre. It's a real shame there are so few spaces in London like this."

In-the-round staging is unique because it changes the nature of the audience experience, taking them into an intimate space where they are both physically close to the performance and, in many ways, an extension of that performance. "Everybody can see everybody. The audience are connecting with each other." But in-the-round is notoriously risky as well. With the audience being both the observed and the observers, their actions and reactions, both positive and negative, become visible. "People are sitting with their feet on the set. That's the pay off. Everybody is part of it."

For the Old Vic, the fleeting but historic transformation of their auditorium has been a bold programming move. Their adventurous and large-scale experiment has been one that has given rise to a season of productions unlike any other, and for those lucky enough to catch a glimpse, the intimacy of the transformed space has offered a chance to get up close and personal with the work of some of our greatest living playwrights.  

Photo by pmorgan courtesy of Flickr.