Little Theatre (Leicester)
Encyclopedia
The Little Theatre is a small theatre
in Leicester
, England
with a main auditorium of 349 seats, along with an additional studio space for performances and workshops. The Theatre also houses an interval bar, rehearsal spaces and library for members, and operates a costume hire facility. A youth theatre group also operates for ages 8-12, and 13-18.
The theatre is home to the Leicester Drama Society, and the programme primarily showcases plays from the resident amateur theatre
company as well as hosting some professional acts and wider community groups, usually for short runs or one night events, particularly during the Leicester Comedy Festival
. Prunella Scales
, William Roache
, Topping and Butch and Charles Dance
have all recently appeared in events at the theatre.
Leicester playwright Joe Orton
and actor Richard Attenborough
are both former alumni from the society. It is believed that Attenborough made his stage début at the theatre at the age of three.
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...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with a main auditorium of 349 seats, along with an additional studio space for performances and workshops. The Theatre also houses an interval bar, rehearsal spaces and library for members, and operates a costume hire facility. A youth theatre group also operates for ages 8-12, and 13-18.
The theatre is home to the Leicester Drama Society, and the programme primarily showcases plays from the resident amateur theatre
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
company as well as hosting some professional acts and wider community groups, usually for short runs or one night events, particularly during the Leicester Comedy Festival
Leicester Comedy Festival
The Leicester Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival held in a number of venues across Leicester, England early in the year. The festival started in 1994 with 40 events in 23 venues over 7 days throughout Leicestershire, attracting 5,000 people...
. Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
, William Roache
William Roache
William Patrick Harry Roache MBE is a British actor, best known for his role as Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street...
, Topping and Butch and Charles Dance
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
have all recently appeared in events at the theatre.
Leicester playwright Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
and actor Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
are both former alumni from the society. It is believed that Attenborough made his stage début at the theatre at the age of three.