Metropolis in the West End

Metropolis Spatial, the interiors division of Metropolis 88, is redesigning bars in five West End venues for London entertainment group Mayfair Theatres.

First to display the new Metropolis Spatial look will be The Wyndhams Theatre, where work is almost complete. The four other venues – the Phoenix, Piccadilly and Albery theatres and the Curzon cinema – will have their bar areas transformed in a rolling programme.

Metropolis Spatial was approached by Mayfair’s retail consultancy TRG and was appointed without a pitch. The consultancy was asked to create bars that are sympathetic to the theatres’ surroundings yet address the problems of overcrowding and flow in the bars during performance breaks.

Mayfair Theatres’ managing director Roger Filer says: “We have limited space through which to maximise sales during the 15-minute interval.”

Signs are being revamped to improve audience flow and to develop the Mayfair brand. Each theatre has a number of bars and each one is being given individual treatment and architectural consideration, with sensitive choice of materials.

Metropolis Spatial hopes the project will lead to similar work at Mayfair’s remaining four venues, including the Comedy Theatre.

*Metropolis Corporate has created two British brand identities for Italian-based fashion group Sonnetti Casuals. Rite and Rite, a premium shirt brand, and Firetrap, a denim range, are both being introduced this year. The identities are being applied to packaging and point-of-sale material.