21st Century Rep (Theatre Archive Project event)

The days when actors rehearsed a play one week and performed it the next are long gone, as are the resident companies who worked together on show after show. Or are they? Is there still a place for repertory and ensemble in Britain’s theatres?

As a number of theatres across the country experiment with new takes on old ways of working, Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner and her guests debate the future of theatrical practice in the UK. 

Laurence Boswell is one of the of the UK’s leading theatre directors.  Appointed the Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath in 2011, he has directed a number of plays there including Fifty Words by Michael Weller, The Double by Dostoevsky (which he also adapted), Iphigenia by Goethe, The Phoenix of Madrid by Calderon de la Barca (which he also translated), and In the Next Room or the vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl (winner of Theatre Awards UK 2012 Best New Play) which transfers into the St James Theatre, London in November 2013.  In 2004 as Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he curated and directed the Golden Age Season which later transferred to the West End and to Madrid.  Among his earlier credits is Ben Elton’s Popcorn, Madonna in her London stage debut, Eddie Izzard in a revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and the roll-call of young Hollywood stars in This is Our Youth.  Laurence was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London (1993–96).

Richard Franklin is an actor, director and writer.  He appeared in repertory theatre productions for Bristol Old Vic and Birmingham Rep. His extensive career includes West End stage roles (Same Time Next Year, As You Like It, The Woman In Black) and numerous television appearances (Crossroads, Emmerdale and Dr Who amongst others). He has been Artistic Director of Renaissance Theatre and Triple-E Stockholm and has written for the stage and television.

Lyn Gardner (Chair) writes about theatre for The Guardian. She also writes novels for children including the successful Olivia series set in the world of West End theatre.

Professor Dominic Shellard is Vice-Chancellor at De Montfort University and co-founder of the British Library Theatre Archive Project. An expert on post-war British theatre, Dominic is an author of nine books, including acclaimed biographies of theatre critics Harold Hobson and Kenneth Tynan. He continues to conduct research into post-war theatre and study the economic impact of theatres in the UK and Europe. His most recent contribution was to a special issue of Routledge journal Shakespeare, exploring Shakespeare’s influence in Japan, due for publication this year.

Presented by the British Library and De Montfort University’s Theatre Archive Project

This event will have live subtitling for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing visitors, provided by STAGETEXT