

The musical Billy Elliot uses a false iron as a scenic device with a pair of doors in it, which would not be permitted for a real iron. Some Safety Curtains are painted - the iron at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane has a beautiful design with the text "For Thine Especial Safety". Usually made from sheet metal and electrically operated, these curtains were originally of iron construction faced with asbestos and lowered by gravity using a hydraulic damping system.

The regulations also require that it is raised and lowered at least once in view of each audience (usually during the interval). A fireproof "curtain" that can be dropped downstage of the house tabs in a proscenium theatre to separate the audience from the stage in the event of fire.Ī Safety Curtain is required by most UK licensing authorities for theatres of traditional design.
