Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Shaftesbury Theatre opened in 1911, as the Princes Theatre. and was renamed in 1963. A campaign by Equity saved the building from redevelopment in later years and it is now on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

We've been producing front-of-house graphics and signs for this venerable theatre for a while now. Our most notable project was the recent Hairspray production. We were thrilled when asked to help renovate the outside of the building; part of the ongoing £ million refurbishment of the theatre.

The owners were keen to return to the original Edwardian facade. Working closely with the heritage team and the architects, we designed the new signage, using a 1900s typeface, Clearface Gothic. We stripped back the existing canopy, fascias, lightboxes and steelwork, allowing access for stonemasons and renovation specialists. Once completed we installed replacement steelwork, brass cases, glass panels and assorted signage. Energy efficient, low maintenance LED lighting was used for the various lightboxes and illuminated built up lettering.