Peter Cheeseman
Encyclopedia
Peter Cheeseman, CBE
(27 January 1932, Portsmouth – 27 April 2010) was a British theatre director who is credited with having pioneered "theatre in the round
".
and Peter Cheeseman gained the use of a former cinema in Hartshill
, Stoke-on-Trent
, and converted it into the Victoria Theatre, a square playing space where the audience viewed the performance from all four sides. Cheeseman became the sole artistic director for the following 36 years. In that time he produced new plays from such writers as Peter Terson
and Alan Ayckbourn
, using young acting talent such as Ben Kingsley
.
He was responsible for over 140 productions, old and new. A speciality was plays with a local resonance, such as The Knotty, about the North Staffordshire Railway
, and The Fight for Shelton Bar
, about the closure of a local steelworks.
Cheeseman masterminded the move in 1986 to a new purpose-built building, specifically designed for theatre in the round, the New Vic Theatre
in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme
. He finally retired in 1998, and in that year was awarded a CBE
. In retirement he remained active, spending eight years as Chair of the National Council for Drama Training
. In 2009 he was recipient of the Young Vic Award for a lifetime's encouragment and inspiration to a younger generation of theatre artists.
Mike Leigh
, who was involved with the Victoria Theatre in the 1960s, said
inaugurated the annual Peter Cheeseman Lectures. His work is now regarded as a suitable topic for academic study.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(27 January 1932, Portsmouth – 27 April 2010) was a British theatre director who is credited with having pioneered "theatre in the round
Theatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area...
".
Career
In 1962, Stephen JosephStephen Joseph
Stephen Joseph was an English stage director and pioneer of "theatre in the round".-Life:Stephen Joseph was born in London, the son of Hermione Gingold and the publisher Michael Joseph . He was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset...
and Peter Cheeseman gained the use of a former cinema in Hartshill
Hartshill, Staffordshire
Hartshill is a township within Stoke-upon-Trent in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire.Hartshill was developed by Herbert Minton as a dormitory suburb of Stoke. The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1842 when Holy Trinity church was built...
, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, and converted it into the Victoria Theatre, a square playing space where the audience viewed the performance from all four sides. Cheeseman became the sole artistic director for the following 36 years. In that time he produced new plays from such writers as Peter Terson
Peter Terson
Peter Terson is a British playwright whose plays have been produced for stage, television and radio. His early work in the 1960s focused on growing up in the dead-end working-class culture of industrial England. He was born as Peter Patterson. He was a schoolteacher for 10 years before writing...
and Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
, using young acting talent such as Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
.
He was responsible for over 140 productions, old and new. A speciality was plays with a local resonance, such as The Knotty, about the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
, and The Fight for Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar was a major steelworks in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. In its heyday, Shelton Bar employed 10,000 in the steelworks, had five coal mines, a complete railway system, and a by-products processing factory.-The main site:...
, about the closure of a local steelworks.
Cheeseman masterminded the move in 1986 to a new purpose-built building, specifically designed for theatre in the round, the New Vic Theatre
New Vic Theatre
The New Vic Theatre is situated in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. It was purpose-built as a theatre in the round and opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.-History:...
in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
. He finally retired in 1998, and in that year was awarded a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
. In retirement he remained active, spending eight years as Chair of the National Council for Drama Training
National Council for Drama Training
The National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers....
. In 2009 he was recipient of the Young Vic Award for a lifetime's encouragment and inspiration to a younger generation of theatre artists.
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
, who was involved with the Victoria Theatre in the 1960s, said
"Working with Peter was a special and creative time. Great friendships were made. There was something special about what Peter made people do and made people be. The kind of spirit in which we worked, to be political and truthful, was down to Peter. He is a genius, a vagabond, a facilitator. What he has achieved is colossal and he is regarded with great respect and love."
Legacy
Staffordshire UniversityStaffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
inaugurated the annual Peter Cheeseman Lectures. His work is now regarded as a suitable topic for academic study.