Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Encyclopedia
The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton
, Greater Manchester
, England.
s, including classic drama
, contemporary plays, comedies
and musicals
.
In recent years, the Octagon has specialised in producing great American drama including works by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.
The Octagon also runs its BoltON season, which runs alongside the season of plays in the Main Auditorium, with events investigating or complimenting the main season. This ranges from professional practical workshops to full day Investigate Days with casts and creative team.
In addition to its own productions, the Octagon also plays host to touring shows, including touring theatre, children's plays and stand-up comedy
.
. The first production was Annie and Fanny by local playwright Bill Naughton
.
The building was designed by Geoffrey H. Brooks, Bolton's Director of Architecture, and was constructed for the sum of £95,000 using money raised by public donation. It was the first professional theatre to be built in North West England
following World War II.
In 1987 the building was extended to add a studio theatre
, originally called the Octopus Studio. In 1994 this space was enlarged and re-named The Bill Naughton Theatre, in honour of Naughton.
In the late eighties Farnworth
born playwright Jim Cartwright
was the Octagon's writer in residence. His plays Two and Bed were premiered at the theatre.
In 1998 the Octagon was refurbished using funds from an Arts Council Lottery
award. This improved the theatre's seating systems and disability access, and allowed the construction of a new room for business hospitality, and a more spacious bar.
In 1999 a financial crisis threatened to force the Octagon to cease producing its own plays and become a receiving house
for touring shows. Local people founded the Support Campaign for the Octagon Theatre, and under the slogan "Keep theatre made in Bolton" collected 12,000 signatures and organised several support events, including a protest march through the town centre and two benefit concerts. Financial commitments were obtained from funders and business sponsors, and the Octagon's status as a producing theatre was secured.
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England.
Programme
The Octagon produces between eight and nine professional theatre productions a year in its Main Auditorium. Productions come from a wide range of types and genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s, including classic drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, contemporary plays, comedies
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
In recent years, the Octagon has specialised in producing great American drama including works by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.
The Octagon also runs its BoltON season, which runs alongside the season of plays in the Main Auditorium, with events investigating or complimenting the main season. This ranges from professional practical workshops to full day Investigate Days with casts and creative team.
In addition to its own productions, the Octagon also plays host to touring shows, including touring theatre, children's plays and stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
.
Performance spaces
The Octagon has two performance spaces:- The Main Auditorium, is a flexible performance space which can present work in three different configurations (in-the-round, thrustThrust stageIn theatre, a thrust stage is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its up stage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area...
and end-stage) and has a capacity ranging from 300 to 400. Over the course of the season, the Octagon will present work in all of these configurations. The Main Auditorium has an octagonal shape, and it is from this that the Octagon Theatre derives its name.
- The Bill Naughton Studio Theatre, a studio theatreStudio TheatreA studio theatre is a 20th-century term that describes a small theatre space. Studio theatres often have a flexible auditorium whose stage and seating may be re-arranged to suit the specific requirements of a production...
with a capacity of 100. This smaller space provides a venue for new and adventurous theatre, educational and youth performances.
History
The Octagon Theatre was opened on 27 November 1967 by Princess MargaretPrincess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
. The first production was Annie and Fanny by local playwright Bill Naughton
Bill Naughton
William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.-Early life:...
.
The building was designed by Geoffrey H. Brooks, Bolton's Director of Architecture, and was constructed for the sum of £95,000 using money raised by public donation. It was the first professional theatre to be built in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
following World War II.
In 1987 the building was extended to add a studio theatre
Studio Theatre
A studio theatre is a 20th-century term that describes a small theatre space. Studio theatres often have a flexible auditorium whose stage and seating may be re-arranged to suit the specific requirements of a production...
, originally called the Octopus Studio. In 1994 this space was enlarged and re-named The Bill Naughton Theatre, in honour of Naughton.
In the late eighties Farnworth
Farnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
born playwright Jim Cartwright
Jim Cartwright
Jim Cartwright is an English dramatist, born at Farnworth, Lancashire, England. Cartwright's first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC....
was the Octagon's writer in residence. His plays Two and Bed were premiered at the theatre.
In 1998 the Octagon was refurbished using funds from an Arts Council Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
award. This improved the theatre's seating systems and disability access, and allowed the construction of a new room for business hospitality, and a more spacious bar.
In 1999 a financial crisis threatened to force the Octagon to cease producing its own plays and become a receiving house
Receiving house
A receiving house is a theatre which does not produce its own repertoire but instead receives touring theatre companies, usually for a brief period such as three nights or a full week...
for touring shows. Local people founded the Support Campaign for the Octagon Theatre, and under the slogan "Keep theatre made in Bolton" collected 12,000 signatures and organised several support events, including a protest march through the town centre and two benefit concerts. Financial commitments were obtained from funders and business sponsors, and the Octagon's status as a producing theatre was secured.
Notable performers
- Peter KayPeter KayPeter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
worked in the theatre's ticket officeBox officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. - John HowardJohn Howard (singer-songwriter)John Howard is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and recording artist. With his February 1975 debut album Kid in a Big World , Howard emerged as a late voice of the glam-pop wave of the early 1970s...
performed his earliest live shows at the theatre, from 1970 to 1973. - Dominic MonaghanDominic MonaghanDominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
appeared in two productions: Annie and Fanny from Bolton to Rome and The Resurrectionists. - John McArdleJohn McArdleJohn McArdle is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap-opera Brookside, with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas...
has appeared at the theatre and is one of the theatre's patrons. - John Saint RyanJohn Saint RyanJohn Saint Ryan is a British actor, horse trainer, and equestrian. Ryan has appeared in supporting roles in film and television. His more memorable characters include Fergus in the 1997 Fox television series Roar and Myles Standish in the 1994 Disney film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale.Ryan made his...
appeared in three productions: A Streetcar Named Desire, Far From the Madding Crowd and Lass at the Man and Scythe. - Tim BoothTim BoothTimothy John Booth is an English singer, dancer, and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James.-1980s:Booth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and attended Shrewsbury School...
starred in the production Saved. - Tim HealyTim Healy (actor)Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:...
appeared in the play "Looking for Buddy" - Jeff HordleyJeff HordleyJeff Hordley is an English actor most notable for playing Cain Dingle in ITV's long-running soap opera Emmerdale.-Early life:...
, EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
regular who appeared in the production of "The Caretaker". - Matthew KellyMatthew KellyMatthew Kelly is an English television presenter and Olivier-award winning actor. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes...
, presenter and actor appeared in "Oh what a Lovely War". - Michelle CollinsMichelle CollinsMichelle Danielle Collins is a British actress best known for her roles on television in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, Coronation Street as Stella Price, and BBC dramas Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky...
starred in production of Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
and The Demolition Man. - Sophie AbelsonSophie AbelsonSophie Abelson is an English stage and television actress. She currently plays Cherry Malone in the BBC Birmingham's daytime soap opera, Doctors.-Early life:Born in Southport, Merseyside, ever since she was a child she wanted to be an actress...
. actress who appeared in productions relating to the Carry On actress Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
.