Lichfield Garrick Theatre: Difference between revisions

Lichfield Garrick
Civic Hall
	The Lichfield Garrick
Address	Castle Dyke; Lichfield, Staffordshire
Owner	Lichfield District Council leased to Lichfield Garrick Theatre Ltd
Type	Regional theatre
Capacity	562 seats
Production	Garrick Rep Company
Construction
Opened	1 July 2003
Years active	9
Architect	Short and Associates
Website
	www.lichfieldgarrick.com

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Revision as of 19:34, 14 August 2014

The Lichfield Garrick is a modern, purpose built theatre^[1] in Lichfield, a city in Staffordshire, England.

The newly extended main auditorium seats 562 people and the Studio seats 157 people. The theatre is named after the actor David Garrick, who was brought up in Lichfield.

The Garrick's program includes a variety of touring shows as well as its own productions. It is also used for plays and musicals by local amateur companies. Like most British theatres the Garrick also plays host to an annual Christmas pantomime.

The Lichfield Garrick is now operated as a charitable theatre trust and is independent of Lichfield District Council, although the Council does invest in the theatre as its principal partner. The Board of Trustees is Chaired by James Leavesley DL.

History

The new £5.5 million theatre opened in July 2003 replacing the old Arts centre and Civic Hall. The project received over £1.4 million from the European Structural Funds Program.^[2] The architect was Alan Short, founder of Short & Associates. As well as adding a fly tower and orchestra pit to the main auditorium, the theatre was remodelled, so that new front of house areas could be built, better backstage access provided and a studio theatre included. It is architecturally notable for its unique natural ventilation system, which is an award-winning eco-friendly design. In 2004 it won the Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice and CIBSE Project of the Year, among others.^[3] However, the building received a mixed response from the public, with some people arguing the theatre's design was not in keeping with the character of Lichfield.

The first production, The Recruiting Officer, was directed by and starred Corin Redgrave. George Farquhar is said to have written some of the play while staying at the George Hotel in Lichfield. It was also the first play that David Garrick performed in.

Garrick Rep Company

The Garrick Rep Company ^[4] was formed in 2005 with the aim of providing theatre goers with powerful and exciting performances, produced in-house at the Garrick Theatre. Early productions were presented under the name of RDC Productions.

Year	Play	Cast	Director	Notes
2006	Bouncers	Tom Roberts, Mark Jardine, Simon Naylor, Andrew Dickinson	Alice Bartlett & Simon West
	April in Paris	Tom Roberts, Sarah Kirkland	Alice Bartlett
	Frankenstein	Tom Roberts, Sarah Kirkland, Rob Glyn-Jones	Alice Bartlett
2007	Waiting for Godot	Mark Jardine, Russell Richardson, Phil Yarrow, Steve Edwin	Alice Bartlett
	Satin 'n' Steel	Tom Roberts, Rebecca Reaney	Alice Bartlett
	Look Back in Anger	Ben Warwick, Emily Bowker, Giles Faulkner, Lydia Bewley, Robert Austin	Adam Barnard
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Ben Warwick, Emily Bowker, Giles Faulkner, Lydia Bewley	Adam Barnard
2008	Cold Comfort Farm	Hannah Jayne Stretton, Edward Elks, Georgina Stamp, Alexander D’Andrea	Kim Gillespie	In association with The Lichfield Players
	Two	Mark Jardine, Janet Bamford	Alasdair Harvey
	Shirley Valentine	Beverley Hills	Alasdair Harvey
	Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Matthew Kelly, Tracey Childs, Mark Farrelly, Louise Kempton	Andrew Hall	Transferred to Trafalgar Studios, The West End
2009	Fur Coat and No Knickers	Sam Millard, Mark Grady, Richard Loosemore	Kim Gillespie	In association with The Lichfield Players
	Ladies' Day	Joanna Bacon, Lorraine Cheshire, Abigail Longstaffe, Sean McKenzie, Liz Simmons	Alasdair Harvey
	The Entertainer	John Ashton, Gerry Hinks, Lin Blakley, Emily Pennant-Rea, Robert Pass	Andrew Hall
2010	Brassed Off	Matthew Stathers, Rachel Matthews, Charlie Buckland, Janet Bamford	Chris Rolls	In association with The Lichfield Players
	The Blue Room	Ty Glaser, Robert Curtis	Alasdair Harvey
	Haunting Julia	Christopher Timothy, Richard O'Callaghan, Dominic Hecht	Andrew Hall	This production was repeated in 2011 and transferred to Riverside Studios, London
2011	On the Razzle	Darren Beaumont, Joe Morrow, Tom McCarron, Lindsey Carr	Alice Bartlett	In association with The Lichfield Players
2013	Educating Rita	Tom Roberts, Tupele Dorgu	Gareth Tudor Price

Controversy

In June 2009, a public campaign was started against what was called "the misappropriation of council funding at the Garrick." ^[5] It was claimed "the facility is focused on the arts when its predecessor, the Civic Hall, catered for a wider variety of community events." However, in response to this many Lichfeldians came out in support of the venue.^[6]

External links

References

[1] Theatre information (Lichfield District Council) accessed 27 Sep 2007

[2] ESFP reference

[3] Awards Reference

[4] ttp://www.lichfieldgarrick.com/Garrick-Rep-Company/

[5] ttp://classcrisis.org/

[6] ttp://www.thisislichfield.co.uk/news/Campaigners-target-elitist-Garrick-Theatre/article-1089150-detail/article.html

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@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 The newly extended main auditorium seats 562 people and the Studio seats 157 people. The theatre is named after the actor [[David Garrick]], who was brought up in Lichfield.
-The Garrick's program includes a variety of touring shows as well as its own productions. It is also used for [[Play (theatre)|plays]] and [[musicals]] by local amateur companies. Like most British theatres the Garrick also plays host to an annual Christmas [[pantomime]]. The current Chief Executive & Artistic Director is Adrian Jackson.
+The Garrick's program includes a variety of touring shows as well as its own productions. It is also used for [[Play (theatre)|plays]] and [[musicals]] by local amateur companies. Like most British theatres the Garrick also plays host to an annual Christmas [[pantomime]].
 The Lichfield Garrick is now operated as a charitable theatre trust and is independent of Lichfield District Council, although the Council does invest in the theatre as its principal partner. The Board of Trustees is Chaired by James Leavesley DL.