IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Norfolk Street, SHEFFIELD, S1 1DA

Designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch, this 980-seat theatre was opened in 1971. It is probably most well-known for staging the annual World Snooker Championships.

Saturday 20th April (today) saw the start of the World Snooker championships.

The spectator's view of a scene beamed into millions of households across the globe for two weeks every April/May, the auditorium of the Crucible Theatre. Above the table, scoreboards and screens showing the BBC's live pictures are attached to the light rigging for the benefit of the audience (see Image] for a view including the screens facing us now). Now that we are down to the semi-finals, there is only one table; for earlier rounds there are two with a dividing wall which descends at the start of each session. The two double panes of glass either side of the central entrance are the commentary boxes, one for each table for the early rounds but, now, BBC take one and Eurosport the other. The similar box bottom-right is the press photographer's booth and it is from here that the pictures are taken which appear in the newspapers. New this year is the introduction of the BBC studio, left, which allows the pieces to be aired with the arena in the background. This was installed overnight as the set was changed to the one-table setup; previously it had been the photographers' booth for the other table and mirrored the remaining one.

Mark Selby, from Leicester, realises a lifetime ambition by beating the defending champion and bookies' and crowd favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan in a tense final at the Crucible Theatre. The Crucible has held the championships annually since 1977 when the wife of the then promoter, Mike Watterson, saw a play here and remarked to her husband that it might make a suitable venue for a snooker event. It was found that the arena floor was just big enough to accommodate two tables and the rest, as they say, is history. Mark Selby is the nineteenth player to become victorious at Sheffield in the event's 38 stagings here. See Image] for more detail of the various parts of the set that are visible here.

With redevelopment of the Crucible Theatre ongoing, the more recent posters have been removed from this billboard, revealing the original advertisement dating back to the theatre's year of opening. The theatre's telephone number is given as the five-digit 'Sheffield 79922'. Inside the octagonal 'C' shape is written: "Of the one thousand seats (prices: £1.20; 90p; 60p; and 30p) not one is more than 59 feet from the centre of the thrust stage. Details of price concessions, performance times and matinees etc. from Box Office, The Crucible Theatre, Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA. Telephone: 79922 General information and mailing list enquiries: Jane Harper, Liaison Services, The Crucible Theatre, Telephone: 70621" Below is the list of performances: January 3-8, January 17-February 10: Treasure Island 10-15 (evenings): Peer Gynt 11-14 (daytimes): Polka Puppet February 2-5 and 14-15: Taste of Honey February 16-24: Shoemaker's Holiday February 25-26: Mister February 29 (preview) and March 1 (first performance): Man for All Seasons" Then the asterisk [which applies to Polka Puppet] is explained as denoting that all seats at these performances are 20p. The footnotes state: Normal price reductions for parties of 12 or more, for students, Bona Fide school children, will be for all productions except "Treasure Island" during the period 17th January - 29th January 1972. Patrons who have seats for performances of Peer Gynt, 31st January - 5th February 1972, and of Shoemaker's Holiday, 14th, 15th, 25th and 26th February 1972 should apply to the Box Office for a refund or exchange of tickets – as those have now been replaced by other productions.

Home of the World Professional Snooker Championships since 1977 and a world-renowned theatre. The church in the background is Image For more discussion, see Image

The major revamp of the Crucible, running from May 2008 to autumn 2009, has continued since I was here last year (see Image), and the frontage is completely different, with a central circular automatic door and overhanging function room. This is on the opening day of the 2009 World Snooker Championship, and as usual a large screen has been erected outside, which will provide live coverage to passers-by. The large rectangular frontage of the upper floor has since had the word CRUCIBLE placed across it in large letters, behind which the white strips are lit after nightfall in a variety of colours. See Image for a picture taken two years later and Image] for the colourful nighttime view.

#23 of 61 big bear sculptures, this one was decorated by Deven Bhurks and is located outside The Crucible. Deven Bhurke’s design for Snoobear takes inspiration from the long-standing history of the World Snooker Championship, which has been played in Sheffield since 1977. The design symbolises the prestigious tournament with Snoobear standing proudly, transformed into a snooker table complete with a set of snooker balls, cue and triangle. The design contains signatures of 17 snooker legends.

A toddler runs in front of his dad as they pass the main entrance of the Crucible Theatre, a world-renowned venue for theatrical performances as well, of course, as the stage for the World Snooker Championships. As a regular at the snooker, this is the first time I have seen the building in the relatively quiet without fellow fans around the place. For further talk about the recent renovations to the theatre, see Image and Image