Almeida Theatre

Almeida Theatre

The Almeida Theatre in June 2011
Address Almeida Street
City Islington, London
Designation Grade II listed
Architect Roumieu and Gough
Owned by Almeida Theatre trust
Capacity 325 seat on two levels
Type Studio theatre
Opened 1833 as reading rooms
Rebuilt 1982 as theatre
2000 Burrell Foley Fischer
Previous names 1833 Islington Literary and Scientific Society
1875 Wellington Club
Production Short seasons
www.almeida.co.uk

The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of contemporary opera, music and theatre. Successful plays are often transferred to West End theatres.

Contents

Early history

The theatre was built in 1837 for the newly formed Islington Literary and Scientific Society and included a library, reading room, museum, laboratory, and a lecture theatre seating 500.[1] The architects were the fashionable partnership of Robert Lewis Roumieu and Alexander Dick Gough. The library was sold off in 1872 and the building disposed of in 1874 to the Wellington Club—Almeida Street was then called Wellington Street—which occupied it until 1886. In 1885 the hall was used for concerts, balls, and public meetings. The Salvation Army bought the building in 1890, renaming it the Wellington Castle Barracks (Wellington Castle Citadel from 1902). To suit the building's new purpose, the front-facing lecture hall's tiered benches were replaced so that the congregation was seated in the conventional position, facing away from the front, and a balcony added. The Salvationists remained there until 1955. For a few years from 1956 the building was a factory and showroom for Beck's British Carnival Novelties, then remained empty until in 1972 a campaign began to turn it into a theatre.[1][2]

The building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in 1972. The current modified building retains the listing.[2]

Foundation of the theatre

The campaign to open the building as a theatre was led by the Lebanese-born internationally renowned opera and theatre director Pierre Audi, after he had acquired the derelict building in 1972.[3] A public appeal was launched and in 1980, with the building renovated, the theatre opened with a festival of avant-garde theatre and music, held both there and at other Islington venues, with Audi as the Artistic Director.

Under Audi the theatre's reputation grew and its annual summer International Festival of Contemporary Music and Performance (now known as Almeida Opera) became highly regarded. In the summer of 1985 Ástor Piazzolla, the renowned Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player, made a week long appearance with his Quinteto Tango Nuevo. Peter Greenaway's 1983 series of films for Channel 4 Four American Composers featured Almeida presentations of works by Robert Ashley, John Cage, and Philip Glass and a Dance Umbrella presentation of Turtle Dreams by Meredith Monk.

Throughout the 1980s the Almeida Theatre was a London 'receiving house' for Fringe, avant-garde and provincial theatre productions. Touring companies from the UK were regularly hosted, including Shared Experience, Joint Stock, Theatre Complicite, Cheek by Jowl and the Leicester Haymarket. The Almeida also presented numerous contemporary music and performance events and productions from Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Japan, Argentina, Israel, Morocco, the Philippines, and Tibet, and also housed a producing company which commissioned and staged several theater works and operas (see list below). Among the dozens of stage directors, composers, and ensembles featured were Yuri Lyubimov, Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Phelim McDermott, Julia Bardsley, Deborah Warner, Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden, Yvar Mikhashoff, Michael Finnissy, Wolfgang Rihm, Claude Vivier, Gerald Barry, Steve Reich, Lou Harrison, Conlon Nancarrow, Virgil Thomson, Arvo Pärt, Somei Satoh, Akio Suzuki, Takehisa Kosugi, Toru Takemitsu, Jo Kondo, Sylvano Bussotti, Giacinto Scelsi, Alfred Schnittke, Luis de Pablo, Capricorn, Spectrum, Music Projects/London, Singcircle, the Arditti Quartet, and the London Sinfonietta.

Peter Brook's Bouffes du Nord company played there in 1982, and Ronald Harwood's documentary drama, The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest premiered at the Almeida in October 1985, an early example of a transcript of a trial of the political murderers of Father Jerzy Popieluszko. In 1987, the Almeida also became home to Motley Theatre Design Course, under the directorship of Margaret Harris.

The Not the RSC Festival was presented at the Almeida in 1986 and 1987.

The Almeida in the 1990s

In 1990 the Scot Ian McDiarmid and the South African Jonathan Kent took over as joint artistic directors.

Work by major playwrights, old and new, British and foreign was staged and the theatre acquired an artistic reputation comparable to the leading theatres in central London and, as noted by playwright David Hare, "it reinvented the European repertoire for London audiences and made British theatre more cosmopolitan and outward going".[4] Organised as a non-profit producing theatre its productions regularly played to packed houses and frequently transferred to the West End (14 between 1990 and 2002) and to Broadway.[5]

In 1993 the theatre won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.

One of the keys to the success and reputation of the Almeida during the 1990s were the stagings of various plays by Harold Pinter. These included revivals of Betrayal in 1991 and No Man's Land in 1992 and premières of Party Time in 1991 and Moonlight in 1993.

During their time at the theatre, McDiarmid and Kent were described by The Guardian as "[making] Islington a centre of enlightened internationalism"[6] and, as they were about to leave their positions in 2002, Michael Billington, in same newspaper, summed up their achievements as threefold:

"Three things have made the Almeida the most exciting theatre in Britain. First, an eclectically international programme: everything from Molière and Marivaux to Brecht and Neil LaBute. Second, top-level casting that has given us Ralph Fiennes in Hamlet and Ivanov, Kevin Spacey in The Iceman Cometh and Juliette Binoche in Naked. Third, a territorial expansion that has seen the Almeida colonise the Hackney Empire, the old Gainsborough film studios and even a converted bus depot in King's Cross".[7]

In Audi's tradition, "Almeida Opera" continues as an annual season of modern opera, usually held in July.

1999-present

In November 1999, the Almeida was awarded £1.5 million by the Arts Council of England to undertake essential repairs to the theatre. The work began early in 2001 when the theatre was closed, and the company moved temporarily to a converted bus station at King's Cross. National Lottery backing of £5.8 million allowed for a complete restoration.

The restoration included rebuilding and extending the foyer, installing more comfortable seating and access, plus better backstage facilities with the stage area re-built for flexibility and strength, the roof improved and insulated, the lighting grid strengthened, complete re-wiring, and technical equipment updated.[8]

Michael Attenborough took over as artistic director in 2002 and, following the completion of its restoration, the theatre was re-opened in May 2003 with a production of Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea, directed by Trevor Nunn. The theatre's current artistic remit is the presentation of bold and adventurous play choices staged to the highest possible standards, in productions which reveal them in a new light. This includes classics from the British, American and Irish repertoire, foreign classics in newly commissioned versions, and new plays.[1]

Almeida Projects

Almeida Projects is the Almeida Theatre's education and community programme. Founded in its current form in 2003 by Rebecca Manson Jones, after Michael Attenborough's appointment as Artistic Director, Almeida Projects provides an active, creative link between the theatre and its audience, more specifically an audience that may not have considered that the theatre might be for them. Largely inspired by the theatre's productions, Almeida Projects now delivers a range of innovative activities ranging from school residencies to the Young Friend of the Almeida scheme, aiming to encourage a creative exploration of the power of theatre.

"Whether any young person working with us goes on to become a professional writer, actor, director, designer, administrator or technician is of secondary interest. Our aim is to act as a catalyst to their energies, to their hunger to participate - celebrating the creativity of young people in the best way we know how: by offering them our experience, our expertise and our unique theatre." Michael Attenborough

Almeida Projects activity covers the following: durational residencies with partner schools, a subsidised ticket scheme for school groups visiting the theatre, productions of new plays for young people inspired by the main programme, the Young Friend of the Almeida scheme, social networking Teachers' Evenings for local performing arts teachers and a training programme for workshop leaders.

Almeida Projects works closely with eight partner schools in Islington: Central Foundation Boys' School, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College, Highbury Fields School, Highbury Grove School, Islington Arts and Media School, Mount Carmel RC Technology College for Girls, The Bridge School and City and Islington College. The Young Friend of the Almeida Theatre scheme was established in May 2008 to enable local young people to take part in activities outside of school. It currently has over 350 members and includes the Young Friend of the Almeida Creative Board, composed of young people who take an active role in planning and promoting all Young Friend activities.

Digital Theatre

The Almedia was one of the launch theatres for Digital Theatre, a project which makes theatre productions available in video download form. The first performance that was filmed was 'Parlour Song'.[9]

Artistic directors

Almeida Theatre productions and presentations under Pierre Audi’s artistic direction 1981-1990

The bracketed numerals against each entry refer to the relevant Theatre Record page numbers

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

A Minute Too Late (1453)
Ave Maria, Linda Kerr Scott
Miss Dunnithorne’s Maggot by Peter Maxwell Davies (1598)
Food of Love (1598)
What Is All This Dancing? (1598)
The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1595)
More Bigger Snacks Now (1750)
My Army by Tim Barlow (1750)
Please Please Please (1750)
Phantom Violin by Gerard McBurney (1750)

1989

1990

Notable productions from 1990

References

  1. ^ a b Baker, T F T; et al. (1985). "Islington Social and cultural activities". British History Online. University of London. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=471. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  2. ^ a b "Warehouse of Beck's British Carnival Novelties Limited, Almeida Street". Images of England. English Heritage. 1994-09-30. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=1&id=368492. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  3. ^ "History of the Almeida Theatre". Almeida Theatre. Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20080216042401/http://www.almeida.co.uk/aboutus/historyofthealmeidatheatre.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  4. ^ Kellaway, Kate (2002-01-27). "Almeida: end of Act One". The Observer. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/arts/story/0,,640718,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  5. ^ Gibbons, Fiachra (2001-09-05). "Celebrated double act quits Almeida theatre". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,546925,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-05. 
  6. ^ Billington, Michael (2002-07-06). "The Players". The Guardian. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/britishtheatre/story/0,,748731,00.html. 
  7. ^ Billington, Michael (2002-01-12). "It's like being in love". The Guardian. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/feature/0,,671768,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  8. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (2003-05-05). "Little gem". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4661613-110432,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
  9. ^ "Leading theatres launch downloadable shows". Official London Theatre Guide. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/latest/view/item107946/&t=Leading%20theatres%20launch%20downloadable%20shows/. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 
  10. ^ Cummings, David M (2000-06-13). International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory. London: Routledge. p. 26. ISBN 0-948875-53-4. 
  11. ^ http://www.johncage.info/workscage/europera3.html

External links