Half Moon Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Half Moon Theatre Company was formed in 1972 in a rented synagogue in Alie Street, Aldgate
, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
. Half Moon Passage was the name of a nearby alley. The founders, Michael Irving
and Maurice Colbourne
, and the artistic director, Guy Sprung
, wanted to create a cheap rehearsal space with living accommodation, inspired by the sixties alternative society.
The Half Moon Young People's Theatre and Half Moon Photography Workshop were also founded at the theatre.
subsidy. The company also formed other arts projects, a youth project that became known as the "Half Moon Young People's Theatre" and a photography collective formed by US
photographer Wendy Ewald
, the "Half Moon Photography Workshop" exhibiting in the theatre and from 1976 publishing Camerawork.
In 1974 an ambitious production of Henry IV, Part 1
and 2
, was described by Michael Billington
; "Bill Dudley has ingeniously transformed the auditorium into a medieval loft with a raked wooden platform bisecting the audience and a mini-drawbridge being lowered from a balcony for processional entrances. This means that the actors are rarely more than about fifteen feet away from the audience; and crucial speeches, like Falstaff's on Honour, can be addressed to individual spectators rather than hurled at a faceless throng".
By the late 1970s the success of the Half Moon Theatre Company meant that the original site, seating only 80 people, was far too small.
's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
that took advantage of the dilapidated state of the building by redecorating it as a part of the performance. This theatre had fixed seating around a central performance area. In 1979 Edward Bond
's The Worlds had its London première at the Half Moon.
Frances de la Tour
enjoyed a collaboration with the Half Moon, appearing in the London première of Dario Fo
's We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay (1978), Eleanor Marx
's Landscape of Exile (1979), and in the title role of Hamlet
(1980).Francis de la Tour Biography accessed 23 May 2007
, ILEA
and Tower Hamlets Council as main sponsors.
A flexible performance space was designed, with moveable seating. The former chapel was incorporated in the new building as the theatre bar, and office space. The design of the theatre was described thus:
in May 1985.
The Half Moon Theatre Company had put on a number of challenging international plays in the 1970s, including premières of Steven Berkoff
's plays, American musicals and English premières of works by Dario Fo
and Franca Rame
.
The Conservative
Government policy of the time was that arts organisations should be self-supporting through ticket sales and generate income through sponsorship and other activities. This went against the Half Moon Theatre philosophy of bringing low cost theatre to 'new' audiences. They wanted to provide political theatre
to those who were on low disposable incomes, which meant keeping ticket prices down. The low income audience and strong political agenda, in turn meant that commercial sponsors were not interested in the theatre.
The Half Moon Young People's Theatre remained intact as a separate company and is still performing, with a small theatre in Whitehorse Road, Stepney. The Half Moon Photography workshop continued with the Camerawork gallery and darkroom space in Roman Road, Bethnal Green, and is now a part of the Four Corners film collective. After years of disuse, the theatre was converted into a Wetherspoons public house
called The Half Moon.
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
. Half Moon Passage was the name of a nearby alley. The founders, Michael Irving
Michael Irving
Michael Irving is an actor of both stage and screen.In 1972 he was one of the founders of the Half Moon Theatre which survived until 1990.In the theatre, his recent work includes performance in the play "Apart from George" and "Rough Music" in London....
and Maurice Colbourne
Maurice Colbourne
Maurice Colbourne was a British stage and television actor.He was born Roger Middleton in Sheffield at the outbreak of World War II, and studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
, and the artistic director, Guy Sprung
Guy Sprung
Guy Sprung is a director of film and theatre born in Ottawa in 1947. Having worked all over the world, he now lives in the Mile End area of Montreal and is the Artistic Director of Infinitheatre....
, wanted to create a cheap rehearsal space with living accommodation, inspired by the sixties alternative society.
The Half Moon Young People's Theatre and Half Moon Photography Workshop were also founded at the theatre.
First theatre
The company had its first success in 1972 with Bertolt Brecht's In the Jungle of the Cities,and The Shoemakers by Vitkyvich (Polish artist and playwright), directed by Maurice Colbourne. In 1973, the company took part in the E1 festival that attracted local writers and actors. In 1975 the company set up a Management Council and began receiving an Arts Council of Great BritainArts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
subsidy. The company also formed other arts projects, a youth project that became known as the "Half Moon Young People's Theatre" and a photography collective formed by US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer Wendy Ewald
Wendy Ewald
Wendy Ewald is an American photographer and educator. Her work is directed toward "helping children to see" and using the "camera as a tool for expression"...
, the "Half Moon Photography Workshop" exhibiting in the theatre and from 1976 publishing Camerawork.
In 1974 an ambitious production of Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
and 2
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
, was described by Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
; "Bill Dudley has ingeniously transformed the auditorium into a medieval loft with a raked wooden platform bisecting the audience and a mini-drawbridge being lowered from a balcony for processional entrances. This means that the actors are rarely more than about fifteen feet away from the audience; and crucial speeches, like Falstaff's on Honour, can be addressed to individual spectators rather than hurled at a faceless throng".
By the late 1970s the success of the Half Moon Theatre Company meant that the original site, seating only 80 people, was far too small.
Second theatre
In 1979 a disused Methodist chapel, seating 200, was identified in Mile End Road, near Stepney Green. This opened in 1979, with a production of Robert TressellRobert Tressell
Robert Tressell was the nom-de-plume of Robert Croker, latterly Robert Noonan, an Irish writer best known for his novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.-Early life:...
's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is a novel by Robert Tressell first published in 1914 after his death in 1911. An explicitly political work, it is widely regarded as a classic of working-class literature.-Background:...
that took advantage of the dilapidated state of the building by redecorating it as a part of the performance. This theatre had fixed seating around a central performance area. In 1979 Edward Bond
Edward Bond
Edward Bond is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them Saved , the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK...
's The Worlds had its London première at the Half Moon.
Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour is an English actress perhaps best known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the British sitcom Rising Damp, and as Madame Olympe Maxime in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.-Early life and family:De la...
enjoyed a collaboration with the Half Moon, appearing in the London première of Dario Fo
Dario Fo
Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
's We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay (1978), Eleanor Marx
Eleanor Marx
Jenny Julia Eleanor "Tussy" Marx , also known as Eleanor Marx Aveling, was the English-born youngest daughter of Karl Marx. She was herself a socialist activist, who sometimes worked as a literary translator...
's Landscape of Exile (1979), and in the title role of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(1980).Francis de la Tour Biography accessed 23 May 2007
Third theatre
During 1979 it was decided that this chapel was also inadequate for the audience that the company was attracting. The Architect Bureau was commissioned to do a feasibility study on the construction of a new theatre on a site adjacent to the chapel. The main architect, Florian Beigel, designed a theatre in which there was no fixed seating, thereby allowing plays to be staged in many forms. Robert Walker, the artistic director, was very specific about the purpose and nature of the theatre. He wanted a space in which all members of a community, from primary school children to pensioners, could exhibit work, meet and visit. By the end of 1981 planning permission had been granted and in 1982 the contract was put out to tender. Construction work finally began in 1983 and by 1984 over £1m had been raised, with the participation of ACGB, GLCGreater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
, ILEA
ILEA
ILEA may refer to:* Inner London Education Authority* International Law Enforcement Academies* A new collection of Baume et Mercier* Iowa Law Enforcement Academy* Ileea Daniel,patronul din Athos,Baia Mare....
and Tower Hamlets Council as main sponsors.
A flexible performance space was designed, with moveable seating. The former chapel was incorporated in the new building as the theatre bar, and office space. The design of the theatre was described thus:
The design is based on the most direct forms of theatre of the past, such as the Italian Commedia del Arte, and the Elizabethan theatres with galleried courtyards, such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.Chris Bond joined the company as artistic director and the theatre was handed over in December, with the opening production of Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
in May 1985.
The Half Moon Theatre Company had put on a number of challenging international plays in the 1970s, including premières of Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
's plays, American musicals and English premières of works by Dario Fo
Dario Fo
Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
and Franca Rame
Franca Rame
Franca Rame is an Italian theatre actress and playwright. She is also the wife of Nobel Prize winning author Dario Fo and the mother of the writer Jacopo Fo.- Life :...
.
Decline
By the mid 1980s, the Half Moon theatre Company was beginning to lose its popular appeal. Problems arose with both the financial management and the artistic programme. In the late 1980s the company was using all of its grant from the Greater London Arts Association to service debts from the construction. The grant was halved in 1990, as it was not being used for its intended purpose of financing performance. The theatre closed in June 1990, unable to continue.The Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Government policy of the time was that arts organisations should be self-supporting through ticket sales and generate income through sponsorship and other activities. This went against the Half Moon Theatre philosophy of bringing low cost theatre to 'new' audiences. They wanted to provide political theatre
Political theatre
In the history of theatre, there is long tradition of performances addressing issues of current events and central to society itself, encouraging consciousness and social change. The political satire performed by the comic poets at the theatres, had considerable influence on public opinion in the...
to those who were on low disposable incomes, which meant keeping ticket prices down. The low income audience and strong political agenda, in turn meant that commercial sponsors were not interested in the theatre.
The Half Moon Young People's Theatre remained intact as a separate company and is still performing, with a small theatre in Whitehorse Road, Stepney. The Half Moon Photography workshop continued with the Camerawork gallery and darkroom space in Roman Road, Bethnal Green, and is now a part of the Four Corners film collective. After years of disuse, the theatre was converted into a Wetherspoons 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...
called The Half Moon.
External links
- Half Moon Young People's Theatre
- Photographs and plans of the theatre
- The East London theatre archive
- http://www.elta-project.org/browse.html?type=company&id=190Collection of archived Half Moon Theatre documents from the University of East LondonUniversity of East LondonThe University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
's East London Theatre ArchiveEast London Theatre ArchiveThe East London Theatre Archive is a digital theatre archive based at the University of East London, in London, England. The ELTA contains 15,000 digitised objects including images, papers, photographs and artefacts...
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