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The Iron, does it have to be shown?


rowan.b1000

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Hi, now I am only 16 and worked backstage on a couple of shows but I was under the impression that at some point during the show the Iron (safety curtain) had to be shown to the audience for a time of about 5 minutes. Now until last night this has happened at every show I have been to see however last night I was at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle to see Cats and they didnt show the Iron at all. I was just wondering if anyone knew why or if anyone knows if its the law to show it?

 

thanks row

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IIRC there was a thread on this a while ago.

 

When I was doing a job in a receiving theatre they requested for insurance reasons that the iron be shown to at least 75% of the audience before and performance or event. Even if it was a simple in and out lasting merely 30secs to a minute.

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Know you're a new poster, but it's worthwhile searching the BR before starting a new post. A quick search for "safety curtain" in the search box came up with this;

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Safety_Curtain

 

Which should answer all your questions. There was also a very interesting thread on this regarding watering systems, winch in and out times and all sorts of other info, but I'll let you find that one.

 

Not a telling off, just a suggestion for next time.

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Thank you for the suggestion but I actually did search and read the artical. I found it very informative however you have to remeber that the article is just written by people like you and me and isnt always read by a profesional or someone in the know. Also I was asking about a specific performance and was wondering if anyone knew why or if they had a special kind of license.

 

Row

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Showing the iron is normally a condition of the theatre's licence. If a particular set design or stage layout makes it inconvenient to show the iron, then it is possible to apply for an iron waiver on a show by show basis - but you'd need a very good reason to convince the fire officer that you can't show the iron before the show or during the interval, and you still need to make arrangements for it to be able to come in in case of an emergency anyway. Any set that we have for one of our shows which will impede the progress of the iron to the stage floor usually gets around it in one of two ways - an iron buffer is installed which provides a continuous fire break to the bits that the iron doesn't cover ; or bits of false floor can be made in such a way that they can be lifted/pivoted/slid/removed to allow the iron to get all the way in.
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If it's any assistance, then the relevant Lord Chancellor's Regulations for London Theatres were helpfully set to music by Michael Flanders & Donald Swann.

 

However there was some disagreement between the two of them as to whether The Safety Curtain must be Raised or Lowered in the Presence of Each Audience!

 

Then again the advice is somewhat out of date since in another reg they sing: Smoking is permitted in the Au-dit-or-I-um! B-)

 

David

Edited by DavidLee
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I was under the impresion only 2 people had to see it working without being told to watch it.

 

It depends on your theatre licence, it will vary from venue to venue, some will be a bounce at the interval, some it will start in as the house opens and go out when X amount of punters are in and others its in for the entire interval.

It can also depend on the show; if they have a noisy turn round to do the iron might stay in for longer to mask the sound.

And then there are shows with no interval! Nottingham playhouse fetch two people out of the foyer and say "watch this iron come in and out" then say "thanks, bye"!

So there is no nationwide answer.

Hope that helps!

Pete

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For what it's worth, I was there last night, and when I went into the auditorium before the first act, the iron was in.

 

 

thanks, I sent an email to the theatre royal and they sent one back saying that it was shown when the house was opened. I must have missed it hoswever I was in 5 minutes after the house opened

 

Rowan

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  • 3 weeks later...

At one theatre that I've worked in, they always bounced the safety curtain at the 20min call, (house opened half an hour before the show,)

 

I did ask why it was done that way, and was told that as long as some people saw the curtain operating that it was ok.

Edited by lx bear
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thanks, I sent an email to the theatre royal and they sent one back saying that it was shown when the house was opened. I must have missed it hoswever I was in 5 minutes after the house opened

Could I just say that doing what you did is unlikely to endear you to the venue. Somebody in the office gets the mail, passes it to their manager, who probably takes pleasure in passing it to the tech manager, who has to find the person who knows, only for them to say it was in, and was taken out at or just after the house opened.

 

Maybe I'm alone, but if I had an email get to me asking a question like that, I'd worry firstly that you might be the authorities attempting to check up, or an interfering member of the public, about to complain to the authority - I'd find it difficult to believe somebody was 'just interested'.

 

As people have attempted to say, although many venues do drop the iron or just raise it in public sight, they may not actually have to. As I said in another thread on the same subject, at my venue, the requirement got removed quite a few years ago, and the iron is not even mentioned in the latest licence. Our fire self-assessment simply states we will keep it and the drencher in good condition.

 

Although I know what you mean about the wiki

however you have to remeber that the article is just written by people like you and me and isnt always read by a profesional or someone in the know

it's rather odd that this particular wiki entry (which I'd forgotten about) was written by 3 people who have been around for a while, and do know what they are doing. So it's always best to check that the wiki entry that you felt may have not answered your questions, wasn't written by 3 of the Blue Room Mods - which it was - before posting this kind of question on the Blue Room where the very same people will read it!

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  • 11 years later...

Hi,

 

I am hoping to understand a little more about the process of applying for an Iron Curtain Waiver, within the UK.

 

Is this something you have experience with, or can help me answer?

 

Thank-you,

AR

thanks, I sent an email to the theatre royal and they sent one back saying that it was shown when the house was opened. I must have missed it hoswever I was in 5 minutes after the house opened

Could I just say that doing what you did is unlikely to endear you to the venue. Somebody in the office gets the mail, passes it to their manager, who probably takes pleasure in passing it to the tech manager, who has to find the person who knows, only for them to say it was in, and was taken out at or just after the house opened.

 

Maybe I'm alone, but if I had an email get to me asking a question like that, I'd worry firstly that you might be the authorities attempting to check up, or an interfering member of the public, about to complain to the authority - I'd find it difficult to believe somebody was 'just interested'.

 

As people have attempted to say, although many venues do drop the iron or just raise it in public sight, they may not actually have to. As I said in another thread on the same subject, at my venue, the requirement got removed quite a few years ago, and the iron is not even mentioned in the latest licence. Our fire self-assessment simply states we will keep it and the drencher in good condition.

 

Although I know what you mean about the wiki

however you have to remeber that the article is just written by people like you and me and isnt always read by a profesional or someone in the know

it's rather odd that this particular wiki entry (which I'd forgotten about) was written by 3 people who have been around for a while, and do know what they are doing. So it's always best to check that the wiki entry that you felt may have not answered your questions, wasn't written by 3 of the Blue Room Mods - which it was - before posting this kind of question on the Blue Room where the very same people will read it!

 

Hi Gareth,

 

This was very useful, thank you for sharing.

 

Is it possible that you might know the process to apply for such a waiver with the local authority?

 

I am struggling to find the best contact for us in Birmingham, UK - CIty Centre.

 

Best wishes,

AR

Showing the iron is normally a condition of the theatre's licence. If a particular set design or stage layout makes it inconvenient to show the iron, then it is possible to apply for an iron waiver on a show by show basis - but you'd need a very good reason to convince the fire officer that you can't show the iron before the show or during the interval, and you still need to make arrangements for it to be able to come in in case of an emergency anyway. Any set that we have for one of our shows which will impede the progress of the iron to the stage floor usually gets around it in one of two ways - an iron buffer is installed which provides a continuous fire break to the bits that the iron doesn't cover ; or bits of false floor can be made in such a way that they can be lifted/pivoted/slid/removed to allow the iron to get all the way in.

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