ArtsResource

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.