Issue 41 Spring web - Flipbook - Page 14
The Safety Curtain, Royal
Theatre, Northampton
In 2023 Chroma Conservation undertook the Heritage Lottery Funded conservation treatment of
the Safety Curtain in the Royal Theatre, Northampton. The wonderfully eccentric painted depiction
on the safety curtain was created in 1978 by Henry Bird and is known as Sipario Dipinto or Separator
Painted. This important feature was inspired by sources such as Commedia dell’Arte and Hamlet’s
mirror. It depicts a series of vignette portraits including the artists’ wife and muse, the actress Freda
Jackson and most notably Errol Flynn who was a member of the Northampton Repertory Players in
the early 1930s.
The curtain is formed of 29 canvas panels which are
attached to a thick supporting lining canvas and are
adhered to it with an adhesive and steel staples, some of
which bridge the joints between the individual panels.
The frame on which the curtain is constructed is made
of metal. Environmental fluctuations were the trigger for
loss of cohesion at joint lines of the individual canvasses
and corrosion of the previously used staples. Many staples
had started to corrode contributing to staining of the
decoration and became weak, these had to be carefully
removed and replaced. The artwork visually benefited
from the removal of corroded staples and reattachment
of the edges using a combination of conservation grade
adhesive and new stainless-steel staples.
The safety curtain acts as a fire prevention measure and
is operated by a new modern electric winch, there were
several points where the metal construction had previously rubbed against the canvas surface resulting in losses
of paint in the material fabric itself. The losses in fabric
were filled using silk and painted to match the area
around it.
The Sipario Dipinto is painted in casein distemper on a
primed ground. Distempers are soluble in water therefore
the surface couldn’t be cleaned with water without
removing the decoration. Distemper paints are generally
unaffected by humidity and temperature and are quick to
dry and so therefore were suitable for the theatre environment. However, the canvas on which they are painted
Above and opposite, work on the curtain
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