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27-766: The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor , Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill , a converted watermill on the River Lambourn . As a producing house , the theatre has staged works that have subsequently moved on to the West End , including the 2004 revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street . The theatre has previously accepted funding from the Sackler family and has declined to comment on whether it still does. The theatre

54-496: A little over two weeks before it opens; then, they begin the next one. The length of rehearsal also varies. American Players Theatre has a six-week-long rehearsal period compared to Oregon Shakespeare Festival 's eleven-week-long one. America's oldest resident repertory theatre, Hedgerow Theatre , is located in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania . It was founded by actor Jasper Deeter in 1923. The present producing artistic director

81-860: A model that differs somewhat from the years-long rotation repertory system found in Europe. In Canada, productions often stay on the repertory for one season, running in repertory with other productions in the same year. The actors are not employed full time long term, but instead work on contracts usually maximum 8 months long. The Vagabond Repertory Theatre Company was formed in March 2009 by artistic directors Nathaniel Fried and Ryan LaPlante, and currently resides and performs in Kingston, Ontario . It shuttered in 2019. The old English-style repertory theatres such as Ottawa 's CRT (Canadian Repertory Theatre) and Toronto 's Crest Theatre no longer exist—although they did have

108-462: A new play to learn every week. Actress Rosemary Harris has told of her 50 consecutive weeks of doing that at Bedford rep. However, this is no longer possible, owing to restrictions from British Equity , which came to mandate just eight shows a week, including perhaps two matinées. The practice of repertory ("rep") is still seen in large cities. Actors now have the luxury of at least three weeks of rehearsal , however. Repertory can still be found in

135-507: A repertory system. A combination company was a touring theater company which performed only one play . Unlike repertory companies, which performed multiple plays in rotation, combination companies used more elaborate and specialised scenery in their productions. A similar term, "weekly rep," denotes a British movement started in the early 1900s that focused on shorter runs of a single new work, rather than having several plays ready to perform at any given time. For weekly rep and for

162-460: A typical three-act play, the actors' week would start on Tuesday, and go as follows: Today, repertory theatres employ a wide range of actors, who can play a variety of types. Before the modern repertory system, acting ensembles were normally made up of the standard stock company and later the touring company. The stock company would usually consist of a leading man and lady, a character actor and actress, younger actors to play romantic roles, and

189-494: A version of summer theatre in smaller holiday districts, such as the "Straw Hat" players of Gravenhurst and Port Carling at Ontario 's vacation Muskoka Lakes area. State-subsidized theatres on continental Europe have been suggested as the origin of the repertoire tradition. One of the earliest examples of this system is the Moscow Art Theatre circa 1898. An even earlier example are the theatres of Germany. See

216-647: Is actress and director Penelope Reed. Other notable repertory theatres include the Guthrie Theater , which was set up as a regional repertory theatre concept that is free from commercial constraints in the choice of repertoire. It is aligned in objectives to the repertory and resident theatre movement that emerged in the United States in the 1960s. This sought to establish an alternative and decentralized theatre network outside of New York, one which would have non-profit-making status and would be focused on

243-456: Is based on the idea that each company maintains a number of productions that are performed on a rotating basis. Each production's life span is determined by its success with the audience. However, many productions remain in repertory for years as this approach presents each piece a few times in a given season, not enough to exhaust the potential audience pool. After the fall of the Soviet regime and

270-469: Is situated in Bagnor Mill, a former corn mill on the River Lambourn in Bagnor , Berkshire. It opened as a 113-seat amateur theatre in 1965, having been converted by David Gollins. In 1967 the theatre was expanded with the addition of a fly system and lighting control , and housed its first professional productions. In 1971, the auditorium was rebuilt to allow a capacity of 170. In 1981 the theatre

297-645: The Phoenix Theatre in New York City, where it was known for staging plays with modest prices. Currently, the American Repertory Theatre is considered one of the most distinguished repertory theatres in the United States. Since its foundation in 1979, it has earned several awards including a Pulitzer Prize (1982), a Tony Award (1986), and a Jujamcyn Award (1985). In Russia and much of Eastern Europe , repertory theatre

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324-537: The Stratford Festival , founded in 1953 primarily to present productions of William Shakespeare 's plays. Canada also hosts North America's second largest repertory theatre company, the Shaw Festival , founded in 1962, which presents plays written by or set during the lifetime of Bernard Shaw , or that follow Shaw's ideal of socially provocative theatre. However, Canadian repertory companies follow

351-505: The Deutsches Theater, a privately owned German theatre founded in 1883 to produce plays in rep. While variations appeared before, the modern repertory system did not become popular until the twentieth century. In the United States, the repertory system has also found a base to compete with commercial theatre. Many summer stock theatre companies are repertory in nature. College students and young professionals making up much of

378-707: The Gaiety early in their careers included Sybil Thorndike and Basil Dean . From the 1930s to the 1960s, two impresarios dominated the field of British rep, mostly in the North. They were Harry Hanson and his Court players, and Frank H. Fortescue's Famous Players, with the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone in the South. When an actor joined one of their companies, it could mean "twice-nightly" shows, and

405-795: The Gaiety was followed by the Citizens' Theatre in Glasgow and the Liverpool Repertory Theatre . Previously, regional theatre relied on mostly London touring ensembles. During the time the theatre was being run by Annie Horniman, a wide variety of types of plays were produced. Horniman encouraged local writers who became known as the Manchester School of playwrights. They included Allan Monkhouse , Harold Brighouse —writer of Hobson's Choice —and Stanley Houghton , who wrote Hindle Wakes . Actors who performed at

432-650: The UK in a variation of guises: in Sidmouth (12 plays), Wolverhampton (eight), and Burslem and Taunton (four each). The Sheringham Little Theatre produces an in-house repertory season each summer, running from June until September. Weekly repertory theatre is also produced by the Summer Theatre season at Frinton-on-Sea . Organizations in Canada include North America's largest classical repertory theatre company,

459-567: The acting company are supported by guest stars or actors who are further along in their careers. Repertory theatre with mostly changing casts and longer-running plays, perhaps better classed as "provincial" or "non-profit" theatre, has made a big comeback in cities such as Little Rock, AR , Washington, DC , Minneapolis , Indianapolis , Milwaukee , Cincinnati , Chicago , Los Angeles , Nashville , New York , Houston , Boston , San Francisco , San Diego , Buffalo , Kansas City , and Seattle . Festival theatre now provides actors with work in

486-403: The art of the theatre as well as the development of artists, craftsmen, and administrators. Publicly funded theatres that belong to this type have been receiving erratic support since the 1980s. The Association of Producing Artists (APA) was one of the most successful repertory theatres in the United States, touring for four years and holding residencies in several cities before finally joining

513-499: The early 1950s. There are many noted Resident companies or repertory companies , such as the Artists Repertory Theatre . Murray, Stephen. Taking Our Amusements Seriously . LAP, 2010. ISBN   978-3-8383-7608-0 . Manchester School (writers) The " Manchester School " was a number of playwrights from Manchester , England, who were active in the early 20th century. The leading figures in

540-967: The rest of the actors would be a variety of ages and body types. The acting ensemble was typically around twelve. This was most popular prior to the Restoration. Post Restoration and into the nineteenth century, stock companies remained, but they were joined and then replaced by traveling companies. These ensembles consisted of the stars and actors hired to play a very specific role as a single production toured around. Examples of rep performers who went on to become well-known are John Gielgud , Ralph Richardson , Laurence Olivier , Rosemary Harris , Christopher Plummer , Harold Pinter , Peter O'Toole , Jeremy Brett , Geraldine McEwan , Vanessa Redgrave , Judi Dench , Ian McKellen , Michael Gambon , Imelda Staunton and Patrick Stewart . Dirk Bogarde wrote about his start at Amersham rep in 1939, and Michael Caine has recounted his time spent at Horsham rep in

567-793: The show is sometimes over-earnest". In 2023, they staged a 12-week scaled-down revival of Lord of the Rings , which received the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production. Repertory theatre Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing her support from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Horniman's Gaiety Theatre opened its first season in September 1908. The opening of

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594-572: The substantial diminution of government subsidy, the repertory practice has required re-examination. Moscow Art Theatre and Lev Dodin 's Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg are the world's most notable practitioners of this approach. Rotation Repertory system is still the most commonly used business model of live theatre in Eastern and Central Europe, specifically in countries such as Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czech Republic. In Germany, Schaubuhne and some other theatres run on

621-400: The summer. There are many ways to rehearse repertory theatre. The most prolific American repertory theatres are an example of that. Utah Shakespeare Festival rehearses two plays a day split between an eight hour period. This is common. Some theatres only rehearse one play a day and add shows into rotation as the season progresses, like The American Shakespeare Center. They rehearse one play for

648-518: The theatre accepted a £500,000 donation from the Sackler family , the billionaire American family accused of contributing to the opioid crisis through the drug OxyContin . In January 2024, the New York Times contacted 30 institutions which were previously recipients of Sackler money, 29 of which confirmed that they no longer accepted money from the family. The Windmill Theatre was the only institution which declined to comment. In March 2020,

675-575: The theatre produced the world premiere of The Wicker Husband . The musical closed on its press night due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and is due to return in March 2022. The theatre ended 2021 with Tom Jackson Greaves's adaptation of The Jungle Book . WhatsOnStage described the use of they/them pronouns for Mowgli as "wonderfully inclusive", although a review in The Times said that "in its eagerness to put across its message of inclusivity

702-494: The theatre to ensure its long-term future. The "Save The Watermill" appeal was founded to raise funds to allow the board of trustees to purchase the theatre. Fraser died from cancer in February 2006. In 2008 it was announced that funds had been met for the theatre's purchase. Fraser was succeeded as artistic director by Hedda Beeby. Paul Hart, the incumbent artistic director, was appointed as Beeby's successor in 2015. In 2020,

729-482: Was purchased by Jill Fraser , who sought to change it from a local repertory theatre into a producing house . In the 1990s, the Propeller company was formed at the theatre. In the early 21st century, the theatre staged a number of productions that subsequently transferred to the West End – including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and The Gondoliers . In the mid 2000s, Fraser sought to sell

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