Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre at dusk on January 22, 2007

The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre. In 1956 it was acquired by and is home to a resident company, the English Stage Company.

[edit] History

[edit] The first theatre

The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Noncomformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Belgravia Theatre. Further alterations were made in 1882 by Alexander Peebles, after which its capacity was 728 (including stalls and boxes, dress circle and balcony, amphitheatre, and gallery), and it was renamed The Royal Court.^[1]

Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including Randall's Thumb, Creatures of Impulse (with music by Alberto Randegger), Great Expectations (adapted from the Dickens novel), and On Guard (all in 1871); The Happy Land (with Gilbert Abbott à Beckett), The Wedding March, translated from Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie by Eugène Marin Labiche (both in 1873); The Blue-Legged Lady, translated from La Dame aux Jambes d'Azur by Labiche and Marc-Michel (1874); and Broken Hearts (1875). These were followed by a series of Arthur Wing Pinero's farces, including The Magistrate (1885), The Schoolmistress (1886), and Daddy Dick (1887).^[2] The theatre closed on July 22, 1887 and was demolished.^[3]

[edit] The current theatre

The present building was built on the east side of Sloane Square, replacing the earlier building, and opened in 1888 as the Royal Court Theatre. It was designed by Walter Emden and Bertie (W.R.) Crewe, constructed of fine red brick, moulded brick, and a stone facade in free Italianate style. It had a capacity of 841 in stalls, dress circle, amphitheatre, and gallery. Harley Granville-Barker managed the theatre for the first few years of the 20th century, and many of George Bernard Shaw's plays were produced in the early years of the century at the Royal Court. It ceased to be used as a theatre in 1932 but was used as a cinema from 1935 to 1940, until World War II bomb damage closed it.^[4]

The interior was reconstructed by Robert Cromie, and the theatre re-opened in 1952, and the number of seats inside was decreased to less than 500 seats.^[5] George Devine became artistic director and opened the English Stage Company at the Royal Court in 1956 as a subsidised theatre producing new British and foreign plays, together with some classical revivals.[1] Devine aimed to create a writers' theatre, seeking to discover new writers of and serious contemporary works, and often becoming involved in issues of censorship. He produced John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in 1956, which was later seen as the starting point of modern British drama.

Besides Osborne, Devine premiered works by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Ann Jellicoe, N. F. Simpson, Christopher Hampton, Athol Fugard, Howard Brenton, Caryl Churchill, Hanif Kureshi, Sarah Daniels, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Martin McDonagh, Simon Stephens, and Edward Bond. Early seasons included new international plays by Bertolt Brecht, Eugene lonesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Marguerite Duras. Although the Court is known as a home for straight plays, The Rocky Horror Show premiered there. In addition to the 400-seat proscenium arch Theatre Downstairs, in 1969 Devine opened a 60-seat studio Theatre Upstairs.^[6]

Though the main auditorium and the façade were attractive, the remainder of the building provided poor facilities for both audience and performers, and the stalls and understage often flooded throughout the 20th century. By the early 1990s the theatre had deteriorated dangerously and was threatened with closure in 1995. The Royal Court received a grant of £16.2 million from the National Lottery and the Arts Council for redevelopment, and beginning in 1996 it was completely rebuilt, except for the façade and the intimate auditorium. The theatre reopened in February 2000, with the 330-seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, and the 80-seat studio theatre, now the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. Since 1994, a new generation of playwrights debuting at the theatre has included Joe Penhall, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Roy Williams amongst others.

The current Artistic Director is Dominic Cooke (from 2007). Previous Artistic Directors include Ian Rickson (1998-2006), Stephen Daldry, Max Stafford-Clark, and William Gaskill. Young writers (between 13 and 25) can apply to the Young Writers' Programme, which seeks to promote works by these young writers.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Social history: Social and cultural activites, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 12: Chelsea (2004), pp. 166-76. Date accessed: 22 March 2007.
2. ^ Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres
3. ^ Howard, London Theatres, p. 54.
4. ^ Social history
5. ^ Mackintosh and Sell, Curtains!!!, p. 155. See Plate 15.
6. ^ Social history

[edit] References

• Bergan, Ronald (1992).The Great Theatres of London: An Illustrated Companion. London: Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 1-85375-057-3
• MacCarthy, Desmond (1907).The Court Theatre 1904-1907 A Commentary and Citicism. London: A.H.Bullen
• Roberts, Philip (1999). The Royal Court Theatre and the modern stage. Cambridge, UK ; Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47962-2
• History of the theatre
• Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres

[edit] External link

• Royal Court Theatre website