The set in use by the society between 2004 and 2008 was designed and built by Andy Vick et al. for the Society's 2004 production, Princess Ida on a budget of ca.£300 for the building materials and paint. Many of its parts were constructed during a series of "12/24 hour" set building sessions.
It consisted of a number of 4'x8' flats, constructed using hardboard and reinforced timber frames. The wings are attached via hinges and designed to aid the structure in being self standing, swinging at any angle that is sensible (between ca.30 and 90 degrees depending on venue and production). it is usually supported by two wooden set supports at the back and sometimes stage weight/props that can be found in Central Hall. It has been used in various imaginative configurations over the course of the 8 shows it has appeared in. In 2005's Another Openin' Another Show, it was put up without the middle three flats to make a much smaller stage and in 2007's Pirates of Penzance it was split in half to create two separate rocky coves.
Over the 4 years of its use, the wood has weakened and the bolt holes have become loose. The major and minor alterations have made it difficult to errect the set in it's traditional confuration and with each show, more bracing has needed to be added. Although as of 2008 most of the timber was in fair condition, the hardboard came to the end of it's life, with anywhere between 16 and 20 layers of paint depending on the area and most of the edges severely damaged by 4 years of use.
The set to follow this version (in 2009's Mikado) is currently under debate as in the year the society needed a large amount of money to replace, update and make safe the set, YUSU decided to award the society with the smallest grant of any society.
