Greenwich Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre
located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich
in south-east London
.
created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house
, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was reconstructed in 1871 and renamed 'Crowder's Music Hall'.
It briefly rejoiced in the name 'Crowder's Music Hall and Temple of Varieties', but was renamed in 1879 as 'Royal Borough Theatre of Varieties'. This name lasted less than 20 years. After a brief spell as the 'Greenwich Hippodrome', it was rebuilt in 1898 and became the 'Parthenon Theatre of Varieties'.
Having shown both live performances and films since 1915, in 1924 it was converted into a cinema
. In 1949, the building was closed and it took a concerted campaign to save it from demolition during the 1960s. After substantial alterations, the building eventually reopened as the Greenwich Theatre in 1969 under Artistic Director Ewan Hooper
and Director Alan Vaughan Williams, who directed the opening production and world premiere of Martin Luther King, written by Ewan Hooper.
It had to survive a further crisis in the late 1990s prompted by the 1997 withdrawal of its annual subsidy from the London Arts Board. It eventually reopened in November 1999.
The seating capacity
is currently 421, around an open thrust stage.
's Three Sisters
and Jean Genet
's The Maids
, featuring Glenda Jackson
, Susannah York
and Vivien Merchant
- many of the Greenwich cast featured in the subsequent film version. Greenwich Theatre also saw the première of John Mortimer
's A Voyage Round My Father
and, on 5 November 1981, Rupert Everett
appeared in the 1981 première of Another Country
- another play which successfully transferred to celluloid, having also won accolades in the West End
.
In 2009, the theatre returned to producing, collaborating with a new company, Stage on Screen, to stage and film plays, making them available on DVD for theatre lovers and students. The first two productions were Dr Faustus and The School for Scandal, followed in 2010 by Volpone and The Duchess of Malfi.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in south-east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Building history
The building was originally a music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was reconstructed in 1871 and renamed 'Crowder's Music Hall'.
It briefly rejoiced in the name 'Crowder's Music Hall and Temple of Varieties', but was renamed in 1879 as 'Royal Borough Theatre of Varieties'. This name lasted less than 20 years. After a brief spell as the 'Greenwich Hippodrome', it was rebuilt in 1898 and became the 'Parthenon Theatre of Varieties'.
Having shown both live performances and films since 1915, in 1924 it was converted into a cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
. In 1949, the building was closed and it took a concerted campaign to save it from demolition during the 1960s. After substantial alterations, the building eventually reopened as the Greenwich Theatre in 1969 under Artistic Director Ewan Hooper
Ewan Hooper
Ewan Hooper is a Scottish actor who is a graduate from, and now an Associate Member of, RADA. Hooper was the motivating force in the foundation of the Greenwich Theatre, which opened in 1969. Hooper was the founder director of the Scottish Theatre Company formed in Glasgow in the 1980s...
and Director Alan Vaughan Williams, who directed the opening production and world premiere of Martin Luther King, written by Ewan Hooper.
It had to survive a further crisis in the late 1990s prompted by the 1997 withdrawal of its annual subsidy from the London Arts Board. It eventually reopened in November 1999.
The seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
is currently 421, around an open thrust stage.
Theatrical history
From 1969, the theatre became a showcase for many new dramatic works. Early plays included ChekhovAnton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
and Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
's The Maids
The Maids
The Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
, featuring Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
, Susannah York
Susannah York
Susannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
and Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant was a British actress.-Career:Merchant performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie and Frenzy...
- many of the Greenwich cast featured in the subsequent film version. Greenwich Theatre also saw the première of John Mortimer
John Mortimer
Sir John Clifford Mortimer, CBE, QC was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
's A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical play by John Mortimer, later adapted for television.The first version of the play appeared as a series of three half-hour sketches for BBC radio in 1963. It then became a television play with Ian Richardson playing Mortimer, Tim Good as the young...
and, on 5 November 1981, Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
appeared in the 1981 première of Another Country
Another Country (play)
Another Country is a play written by English playwright Julian Mitchell that premiered in 1981 at the Greenwich Theatre in south-east London and later transferred to the West End in March 1982. In the summer of 2000 the play was revived at The Oxford Playhouse. From 4 September 2000 until 28...
- another play which successfully transferred to celluloid, having also won accolades in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
In 2009, the theatre returned to producing, collaborating with a new company, Stage on Screen, to stage and film plays, making them available on DVD for theatre lovers and students. The first two productions were Dr Faustus and The School for Scandal, followed in 2010 by Volpone and The Duchess of Malfi.