A new welcoming and spacious bar area has now opened at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax, as part of wider improvements at the venue.
The Victoria Theatre is a much-loved visitor attraction in Calderdale and a key heritage building in Halifax. Recent significant improvement work, with funding from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund, has been used to update and enhance the Grade II listed building, improving the experience for those visiting and ensuring that more people can enjoy all that the theatre has to offer.
The improvements have been driven in part by feedback from customer surveys conducted during the autumn 2022 season. Over 1,300 customers shared their experiences, providing valuable insights that have helped to shape the theatre’s recent upgrades.
Whilst the survey revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the theatre’s welcoming staff and atmosphere, it also highlighted key areas which could be improved, including payment processes, accessibility issues and comfort.
Significant improvements have helped address these issues and the venue’s transformation has included upgraded access, with three new customer lifts and two accessible toilets. It is also benefitting from a new box office, with the former box office area now transformed into a bright and spacious new bar area for the ground floor.
The new bar provides an additional and fully accessible service area, alleviating pressure on existing bars during busy shows. The Stalls Bar has also undergone a complete refurbishment, making it a much more pleasant space for visitors.
In addition to the Future High Street funded work, technology at the theatre has also been upgraded, with contactless payments now available at all food and drink outlets. The introduction of high-speed fibre optic WIFI throughout the building is speeding up service for customers.
The construction work has been carried out with the building’s heritage at heart, and original features, such as stone columns in the new bar, have been exposed and highlighted, with the decoration better reflecting the building’s original colour palette.
Bespoke joinery work has also taken place to complement existing features, such as the historic foyer doors. New flooring and lighting as part of ground floor improvements have further enhanced the look of the venue.
All the improvements are in place to enhance the visitor experience in time for the busy autumn season, with the venue hosting many events as part of the Halifax Comedy Festival this October and November, and ahead of this year’s pantomime, Beauty and the Beast. Visit victoriatheatre.co.uk(external link) for more information on upcoming shows and booking information.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“The opening of the new bar is the latest is a series of major milestones at the Victoria Theatre. Funding from the Future High Street fund has supported significant improvements, which have helped us address some of the issues that people have told us they’ve experienced when visiting the theatre.
“One of the key improvements is the building’s accessibility and the new bar will support improved step-free access to refreshments, with new lifts also enabling access to the circle for those with limited mobility, for the first time in the venue’s history.
“We want to make sure that visiting the theatre continues to be a welcoming and enjoyable experience for everyone and there are some great upcoming shows and events for people to see the improvements for themselves.”
Calderdale Council’s Theatres Manager, Tim Fagan, said:
“We have an exciting autumn/winter programme ahead and the new facilities will ensure that more people can enjoy all the theatre has to offer.
“These improvements have been shaped by feedback from visitors and we’re really grateful to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts. The input from visitors has been instrumental in guiding our recent projects and we’ll continue to listen as part of our commitment to ongoing enhancements at the theatre.”
For more information about the improvement works that have taken place at the theatre, visit calderdalenextchapter.co.uk/projects/victoria-theatre-halifax-future-high-streets(external link) or for more information about the Halifax Future High Streets Fund works, visit Halifax Future High Streets | Calderdale Next Chapter(external link)