| Lace Market Theatre | |
|---|---|
The logo of the Lace Market Theatre |
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| Address | Halifax Place |
| City | City Centre, Nottingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Designation | Grade II* Listed Building |
| Owned by | The Lace Market Theatre Trust Ltd. |
| Capacity | 118 auditorium, 50 studio |
| Type | Amateur Theatre |
| Opened | 1972 |
| Years active | 37 |
| Rebuilt | 1984 extension |
| www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk | |
The Lace Market Theatre is a small, independent amateur theatre, located in Nottingham, England. It is owned and operated by The Lace Market Theatre Trust Limited, which is a registered charity.[1]
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The Lace Market Theatre Trust developed from two amateur dramatic societies founded in Nottingham in the 1920s – the Nottingham Playgoers Club [1922] and the Nottingham Philodramatic Society [1926]. These amalgamated in 1946 to become the Nottingham Theatre Club and were based from 1946 to 1951 at the Nottingham Bluecoat School.
In 1951 the Nottingham Theatre Club moved to premises in Hutchinson Street which were much closer to the city centre. They stayed there until 1972, when they were ousted as part of the major slum clearance and redevelopment of the city during that decade. It was at this point that the members raised the money to buy an old dilapidated paint store in the Lace Market area of the city.[2]
The paint store had originally been built in 1761 as a Chapel [3] and later became a school, where William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was a pupil. The building is now Grade II listed.[4]
Tight funds meant that most of the conversion had to be carried out by the members themselves in their spare time. But what emerged was an auditorium seating 118 and space in the upstairs bar for studio performances for smaller audiences. All this was achieved in the space of a year. The aim was, and has remained to put on plays that were challenging for actors and the technical crews and ones which otherwise people would have to go to London to see.
Training by doing was always a part of the club and the concept of small scale productions in the bar area where first time directors could cut their teeth were introduced. These productions were known as "Fents"[5] in homage to the textile history of the Lace Market area.
In 1977, the opportunity arose to acquire more land and it was decided that, to facilitate fund raising, the Lace Market Theatre Trust should be formed. £40,000 was raised for a three storey extension at the rear and a further £40,000 was raised for its completion in 1984. The building was owned by the Trust and the Nottingham Theatre Club rented it from them.
While the Nottingham Theatre Club continued the policy of challenging drama, the trust began furthering the educational responsibilities of a charity by giving grants to students who were going on to drama school. At that point in time, drama students were only able to apply for discretionary grants from the LEA and these were in short supply.
By the year 2000 the Nottingham Theatre Club were again beginning to feel cramped. The extensive wardrobe moved into rented premises, first in St. Mary's Gate and then in Stoney Street in the heart of the Lace Market District.The Theatre is well known for its brilliantly run youth theatre (which have one many awards at the NANDA festival for the past few years) which is officially the best in Nottinghamshire due to winning the Reg Dury cup. The youth theatre is currently working on 'Much Ado About Nothing' to perform on the 1-4 April 2009. The play will be a huge success if it compares to last years superb 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'.
The Nottingham Theatre Club merged into the Lace Market Theatre Trust in 2003. New development plans are under way with the aim of creating a landmark amateur theatre for the region.[6]
Shortly after the completion of the extension in 1984, Prunella Scales and Timothy West were invited to become patrons of the theatre and this they both agreed to do. Joyce Redman is also a patron to the theatre.[7]
The Lace Market Theatre has been twinned with the Jakobus Theatre and Die Kaeuze in Germany since 1982[8]. The theatres currently take it in turns to take one production every other year to the other, one year the Lace Market hosting both German theatres, the next the two German theatres hosting one production each.