Carlton Players, Birkenhead

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Carlton Players is a theatre company in Birkenhead, England.

[edit] History

When bombing destroyed the Argyle Theatre in 1941, England lost its most famous music hall, and Birkenhead lost its one remaining theatre. Two others, the Birkenhead Hippodrome and the Theatre Royal, had given up the unequal struggle some years before.

It was left to amateur societies to provide the only live theatre, in a number of multi-purpose halls. One of these, the Carlton Players, had been founded in 1930 by a group of teenage enthusiasts who, in the words of a local newspaper, "set out on the treacherous seas of amateur production with neither guidance nor backing". Up to the outbreak of the second world war, the Carlton Players were producing two or three plays each year. Initially rehearsals took place in members' homes, but later rehearsal rooms were rented in nearby Bebington. Some 25 plays were produced during the war in a variety of venues throughout the area and in excess of £4000 was raised for various charities.

With the war over, it was decided that a permanent base should be found for the society. The provision of a new theatre was out of the question but in 1948, after many disappointments, a Presbyterian Church situated in the centre of the town became available at a cost of £6000. The building was over a hundred years old, but it had a raked floor, it would house an audience of 300/400 while still providing for a large stage and adequate wing space; it had a basement hall which would accommodate over 200, and various offices suitable for adaptation into rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms etc. The major problem was finance. A deposit of £2000 was required. The company, realising that this was an opportunity too good to miss, took the plunge and released its entire assets of £600 as an initial deposit. A Limited Liability Company was formed and members, friends and the general public were invited to buy shares in the Birkenhead Repertory Theatre Limited.

The response was slow at first, but eventually the remainder of the deposit was raised and a £4000 Building Society mortgage was obtained. Thus the company found itself the proud but somewhat apprehensive possessor of a building which it could not afford to convert, but one that would deteriorate rapidly unless essential maintenance and repairs were quickly carried out. The immediate solution was a compromise - to convert the basement, which had been earmarked as the foyer of the projected theatre, into a miniature theatre - a task within the scope and pockets of the membership.

Completed by September 1951, it was an intimate theatre in every sense of the word. The stage was 18 inches in height and measured 18 feet by 10 feet. Wing space was negligible and the front row of the audience was within hand-shaking distance. From 1951 to 1958 more than fifty plays were presented in this temporary theatre, usually for a one week run. The tiny stage proved no barrier to mounting demanding productions, but although reasonably large casts could be accommodated, the fact that there was only room for around 180 paying public, and with the rehearsal and presentation of six or seven plays per season leaving the company little or no time to raise urgent funds in other ways, the provision of the theatre proper was becoming seemingly out of reach. Overheads and running expenses were being covered, but little was being set aside for the building fund; and the development of a town theatre available not only for the host society but also for the use of visiting societies, seemed as far away as ever.

In 1954, therefore, the Carlton Players' holding company, Birkenhead Repertory Theatre Limited approached the Town Council and laid before it plans and estimates for the conversion of the building. A co-operative Finance Committee recommended to the Council an interest-free loan of £10,000 later increased to £14,000 to enable the structural part of the conversion to proceed. The loan was to be repaid over 20 years at the rate of £700 per year. It was agreed that at the same time as the new theatre frontage was built that two lockup shops would be added as another source of revenue.

And so work commenced on a project which was becoming less and less like the pipe dream it had once seemed. With qualified electricians among its membership, it was not long before a switchboard was constructed and, in the close season of 1955/56, a bank of 29 dimmers was purchased from the Theatre Royal, York, in order that the liquid electrolyte dimmers which had previously been employed could finally be dispensed with. The non-structural conversion work, the building of offices, dressing rooms etc., and the furnishing, painting and decorating were arduously carried out by members of the company.

The new stage had a proscenium opening of 28 feet and a depth of 22 feet to which a 4 foot apron was added two years later. The seating capacity then as now was 318. The temporary basement theatre became a most capacious foyer comprising offices, cloakroom and a bar, able to accommodate some 200 patrons. Finally, the Birkenhead Little Theatre opened its doors on Wednesday 4th October 1958 with a performance of J. M. Barrie's "Dear Brutus". Since that memorable evening, Carlton Players have performed six plays per year, almost 2000 performances in all and have rented out the theatre to numerous local dramatic societies, choral groups, pantomime groups, dancing schools and musical societies as well as local businesses for lectures and seminars. The Monday evening of a Carlton Players' production is given over to a local charity who benefit from their ticket sales.

Since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act, the company has been striving to amass sufficient funds to provide disabled access to the building. An accessible toilet has already been constructed, an induction loop system has been installed and the provision of a lift from the foyer to the auditorium is currently ongoing.