Renaissance Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
The Renaissance Theatre Company was founded in 1987 by Kenneth Branagh
and David Parfitt
as a development of the work they had been doing periodically on the London 'Fringe', producing and appearing in lunchtime shows, leading up to Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet
, at the Lyric Studio in Hammersmith in August 1986 co-starring Branagh and Samantha Bond.
With a group of 'angels' — fellow actors, writers and kindred spirits - the newly formed company was able to finance its first full season, including the premiere of Branagh's thriller, Public Enemy, in the Lyric Hammersmith main house, with Branagh in the 'Jimmie Cagney' style leading role. In the same season this was followed by John Sessions
' satirical solo The Life of Napoleon which transferred from Riverside Studios
to the Albery Theatre.
Over Christmas 1987 it ended with Branagh's production of Twelfth Night also at Riverside Studios
, starring Richard Briers
as Malvolio, Frances Barber
as Viola, and with an original score directed on stage by Scottish actor, musician and composer Patrick Doyle
(who later achieved fame as an international film composer). The production was also recorded by Thames Television
.
Although Renaissance received no public funding, it partnered in 1988 with John Adams
and the Birmingham Rep on a touring season of plays launched as Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, with three classical actors making their directing debuts: Judi Dench
with Much Ado About Nothing
, Geraldine McEwan
with As You Like It
, and Derek Jacobi
with Hamlet, which featured Branagh in the title role. After a UK tour and an August stop-over at Elsinore, the three productions were seen in a London repertoire season at the Phoenix Theatre (London)
.
In 1989, Judi Dench
again worked as director for the Renaissance revival of both the theatre and television productions of Look Back in Anger
by John Osborne
, presented first in Belfast then in London at the Lyric Theatre, starring Branagh as Jimmy Porter and Emma Thompson as Alison.
Renaissance moved into different mediums such as Branagh's Academy Award-winning film version of Henry V, but also by producing three shakespeare plays on radio, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet and finally, King Lear starring Sir John Gielgud.
The companies last two major stage productions were Uncle Vanya (with Richard Briers and Peter Eyre) and Coriolanus produced in conjunction with the Chichester Festival Theatre and starring Kenneth Branagh in the title role and Judi Dench as his mother, Volumnia.
Branagh subsequently moved into film making and the company was disbanded in 1994.
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
and David Parfitt
David Parfitt
David Parfitt is a film producer and actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love....
as a development of the work they had been doing periodically on the London 'Fringe', producing and appearing in lunchtime shows, leading up to Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo 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...
, at the Lyric Studio in Hammersmith in August 1986 co-starring Branagh and Samantha Bond.
With a group of 'angels' — fellow actors, writers and kindred spirits - the newly formed company was able to finance its first full season, including the premiere of Branagh's thriller, Public Enemy, in the Lyric Hammersmith main house, with Branagh in the 'Jimmie Cagney' style leading role. In the same season this was followed by John Sessions
John Sessions
John Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
' satirical solo The Life of Napoleon which transferred from Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
to the Albery Theatre.
Over Christmas 1987 it ended with Branagh's production of Twelfth Night also at Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
, starring Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
as Malvolio, Frances Barber
Frances Barber
Frances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
as Viola, and with an original score directed on stage by Scottish actor, musician and composer Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle is a Scottish musician and film score composer. A longtime collaborator of actor/director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work scoring such critically acclaimed films as Henry V , Sense and Sensibility , Hamlet , and Gosford Park , as well as noteworthy blockbusters as Harry...
(who later achieved fame as an international film composer). The production was also recorded by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
.
Although Renaissance received no public funding, it partnered in 1988 with John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
and the Birmingham Rep on a touring season of plays launched as Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, with three classical actors making their directing debuts: Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
with Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
with As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, and Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
with Hamlet, which featured Branagh in the title role. After a UK tour and an August stop-over at Elsinore, the three productions were seen in a London repertoire season at the Phoenix Theatre (London)
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
.
In 1989, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
again worked as director for the Renaissance revival of both the theatre and television productions of Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
by John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
, presented first in Belfast then in London at the Lyric Theatre, starring Branagh as Jimmy Porter and Emma Thompson as Alison.
Renaissance moved into different mediums such as Branagh's Academy Award-winning film version of Henry V, but also by producing three shakespeare plays on radio, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet and finally, King Lear starring Sir John Gielgud.
The companies last two major stage productions were Uncle Vanya (with Richard Briers and Peter Eyre) and Coriolanus produced in conjunction with the Chichester Festival Theatre and starring Kenneth Branagh in the title role and Judi Dench as his mother, Volumnia.
Branagh subsequently moved into film making and the company was disbanded in 1994.