Opening doors
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- Doors in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
As part of construction of the 1932 building, a set of doors was commissioned to represent the tools of the tradesmen who had worked on the theatre. The doors were placed between the main staircase and the old Box Tree restaurant, which later became Quarto's, and were made from mahogany, with horizontal bands of ebony, inlaid with representations of the tools and instruments used by the various trades employed in the building.
The craftsmen that made them, J.P. White & Sons, also carried out most of the decorative woodwork in the theatre, often working with other craftsmen who did the decorative metalwork.
Originally the doors were facing out towards the fountain staircase, so when the doors were opened the craftsmanship could not be seen. They have recently been reinstated and we have now turned them around so they face into the interval drinks bar, allowing the detail to be seen when the doors are opened.