RENOVATED MARKIDEIO NEEDS SOME TWEAKING

From Cyprus Mail - article by Bejay Browne 10 June 2018

AS performances at the newly renovated Markideio theatre in Paphos get well underway, a lack of vital specialised staff has meant that the venue’s high-tech acoustics have yet to be used properly.

Evros Loizides, a Paphos municipality councillor told the Sunday Mail that an expert in how to operate the acoustics correctly was now needed.

“Soon we will hire a facility manager, until then some of the municipal employees that are trained in the basics are at the theatre. We are hiring equipment from outside, as the acoustics are very high-tech and no one knows how to use them.”

The acoustics can be operated using all different techniques, depending on the performance, he said. The walls can be adjusted and the roof also opens and closes, depending on each performance. “However, we didn’t use it yet,” he said.

Nicosia based architects Simpraxis are responsible for the project and worked with a specialised acoustic consultant. The acoustics are complicated to set up, according to 47-year-old architect, Marios Christodoulides, who said that nothing inside the space is “just for decoration” or there “by accident” and that each piece of the theatre interior has a role.

“It’s not about aesthetics, it is all relevant to the acoustics,” he told the Sunday Mail. “The right people are needed to operate the acoustics, and they are not working properly yet. This is a bit of a concern for us, but generally, the audiences are giving positive feedback,” he said.

It would be fair to say that the overhaul of the structure has created an unrecognisable, landmark building for Paphos, which connects the theatre to the neighbourhood and has a definite ‘wow’ factor.

In 2015 architects Marios and Christos Christodoulides were awarded 1st prize in a competition to revamp the theatre and surrounding space. It took one and a half years to complete, running over the initial eleven-month allocated time frame.

The project saw the renovation of the existing Markideio Theatre incorporating, as well as the existing theatre space, neighbouring plots that were occupied by small industries such as a marble processing plant and a car mechanic. This presented a challenge, he said.

“We had to design the project in a way that it could be built in sections as the different industries moved out.”

This is the first theatre project for the firm who have completed numerous housing projects; they are also the architects behind the project to connect the archaeological sites in Kato Paphos. This includes a new walkway, parts of which run above a main road and which has been held up by the construction company that is suffering financial difficulties, he said.

The old theatre was hidden, it was hard to get too and had no connection with the neighbourhood or the road. The architects remedied that in two ways, by extending part of it to form a new cafeteria and taking it to the edge of the street.

“We also extended and created a promenade to Caravella parking area”, he said.

The architect now believes that the building is more grounded and better connected to its surroundings. The main ideas, he noted, were to make the theatre more practical and to combat the big problem of access to the stage from the changing rooms.

According to Christodoulides, inside the theatre, the stage has been ‘flipped’ moving it to the back allowing for easier servicing and creating a more functional entrance from the neighbouring streets.

“It is now far more effective and the area is divide into two different access points. Moving the stage made this easier.”

They also created three green open spaces. The first, a large open public space to the front of the building which helps the theatre to ‘breathe’ a little, he said. This is not just for use by theatre goers, but also the public. The second is a central open courtyard which is not quite finished yet.

The third is at the back, and for the actors and musicians when they are getting ready.

He said that overall, audiences are happy with the theatrical experience but that the main gripes are the dark colour of the exterior which some don’t like and the fact that there is no middle row of seats in the auditorium. The space had originally been used as a cinema and so therefore seats were configured as such, and not the most suitable for a theatre, he said.

“We chose to have the seats on a steep slope, this gives a better experience for the audience and there are 25 seats in a row- it’s a different energy when there is no middle row. The audience and the stage are more connected.”

The budget for the entire project was limited said Christodoulides and a huge chunk was spent on the infrastructure of the building, so they had to be smart and find ways of spending money to create an up- scaled look.

“We’re happy with it, it works for the site and the neighbourhood and hopefully it will lead the way to upgrade the area bit by bit.

Loizides said that the theatre is a welcome asset for Paphos and that there are now two access points into the theatre, rest rooms, changing rooms, and cafeteria which will go to tender soon.

“This is a big upgrade of an old theatre and it is so much better both inside and out.”