Dundee Repertory Theatre
Dundee Repertory Theatre or Dundee Rep is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house - hosting work from visiting companies throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom including drama, musicals, contemporary & classical dance, children’s theatre, comedy, jazz and opera. It is home to the Dundee Rep Ensemble, Scotland’s only full-time company of actors as well as Scotland’s principal contemporary dance company, Scottish Dance Theatre. ‘’’The Rep’’’ building is located in Tay Square at the centre of the city’s "cultural quarter" in the West End.
Recognised to be among the top regional theatres in the UK, it plays to an average audience of over 70,000 people a year attracting a very broad cross section of the local population in terms of age and occupation.
History
In the 1930s theatres in Dundee began to close to be converted into cinemas due to the enormous popularity of film. Robert Thornely – Manager of the last touring company to perform in Dundee was determined to find a home in the city for his professional theatre company. He approached the Dundee Dramatic Society, an amateur company, who, also faced with nowhere to perform had recently purchased their own premises in the form of a disused jute mill. In May 1939 Dundee Repertory Theatre was founded as a collaboration between professionals with amateur support. Around this time people thought it strange to be concentrating on drama during the turmoil of World War II. However the company performed weekly repertory during the war and the rest of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s. The company faced disaster in June 1963 when a fire completely destroyed the Rep’s home at the Foresters’ Hall building and was forced to live a nomadic existence for a short period. Eventually a temporary refuge was found in a converted church on the Lochee Road of Dundee although the company remained at the venue for a further 18 years.
After negotiation with the City of Dundee District Council and the Scottish Arts Council it was agreed that the company would have its own purpose built premises on land donated by University of Dundee. Work began in January 1979 under the leadership of Robert Robertson who had been Artistic Director for a number of years and who was instrumental in overseeing the building and completion of the new theatre. However, the building work looked like being stopped in its tracks due to rising prices and inflation. A public appeal was launched which raised a massive £60,000 in under six weeks, reaching an eventual total of £200,000 outstripping all possible expectations, in a city that was then in the midst of economic recession. The new theatre opened on April 8 1982, designed by Dundee based architects Nicoll Russell Studios. The building proved a great success - with a personal 455-seater auditorium, providing one of the best stages in Scotland in terms of its relationship with its audience, it received a civic commendation from The Civic Trust Award in 1984 and in 1986 won the RIBA Architecture Award. Robert Robertson retired from Dundee Rep in 1990.
In April 1992 Hamish Glen was appointed Artistic Director, the same year saw the building extended and undertook a major refurbishment to facilitate a growing community and education department and to include a dance studio as well as extending its existing workshop, wardrobe and rehearsal capacity. In 1996 it received the prestigious TMA Martini Award for the Best Overall Production in the UK and in September 1999 it opened its doors to one of the most ambitious experiments in Scottish Theatre for many years – a permanent company of 14 actors.
The Rep Today
In Spring 2003 James Brining and Dominic Hill replaced Hamish Glen as joint Artistic Directors. Since then the theatre's work has been seen locally, elsewhere in Scotland and further afield. The company currently enjoys a strong reputation. In the 2004 Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland (CATS), Dundee Rep 5 awards – Best Production (‘Scenes From An Execution’), Best Director (Dominic Hill for ‘Scenes…’), Best Actor (John Bett), Best Design & Best Music (both for ‘Twelfth Night’) as well as five other nominations. In 2004 a new £1 million dance studio was completed to house Scottish Dance Theatre. The Rep's in-house productions offer a repertoire of acclaimed works. The Rep also commissions playwrights to create new works and translate and adapt classical texts, making it relevant to Scotland’s contemporary cultural and social climate. The venue also includes the bar/restaurant, Het Theatercafé. The bar has also become a performance and exhibition space for music, poetry and artworks.
One of its most exciting recent ventures was the tour of its acclaimed production of The Winter's Tale to Iran under the auspices of the British Council's five year initiative 'Connecting Futures' a multi-million pound project to address the gulf of understanding between communities in the UK and in the Arab and Muslim worlds. This was the first major cultural event to be shown in Iran for 25 years, and the first ever British Council theatre tour to Iran. The request for the event came from Dr Sharifkholdaei, Head of the Dramatic Arts Centre in Tehran, and Director of Fajr International Theatre Festival. The set was built entirely in Iran, under the direction of John Miller, the company's production manager and played at the Vahdat Hall, Tehran to massively enthusiastic audiences.
Some notable associations
In 1962, Lynn Redgrave appeared in Ben Travers’ Rookery Nook, and as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, which also featured Steven Berkoff and Dundee-born Brian Cox who has gone on to play many roles in TV productions and Hollywood films.
In the mid-1960s, a stable repertory company including Jill Gascoigne, Vivien Heilbron, Charmian May and Stephen Yardley saw short seasons from visiting actors James Bolam and Michael York.
In 2002, new Doctor Who star David Tennant played a season.
Other alumni include Geoffrey Hayes (beloved of British TV-viewers as the host of cult children's show Rainbow) and Hannah Gordon.
In 2008 Dundee Rep Youth Theatre joined forces with the Ensemble to perform Edward Bond's "[The Children][1]". “It’s difficult to find really good scripts for young people,” says Sarah Brigham, Dundee Rep’s associate director. “Usually it’s a pantomime, or a big musical. But what we believe at the Rep is that young people can be put in real contemporary theatre by the very best playwrights, and they can learn by performing that work."[1]
