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The Loft Theatre Company is a troupe of actors based in Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, founded in 1922. [1] The company is an amateur theatre.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2022) |
The Loft Theatre Company is a troupe of actors based in Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, founded in 1922. [1] The company is an amateur theatre.
The company was founded on 5 May 1922 by a local reverend, Mr W. A. Constable, and his wife, after a meeting in the neighbouring town of Warwick. Another founding member was Mary Dormer Harris. [2] The original group was called The Warwick and Leamington Dramatic Study Club [3] and its intention was the study of plays and poems, just as much as the performance of them. In these early days the company did not have their own premises so they used various locations around Leamington including the local college, the town hall and The Jephson Gardens. The company moved into its first home, a barn, in 1932. It was from this venue that it got its affectionate name, now its official name, The Loft (after the hay loft in the barn).
The barn was used for nine years after which the company again went 'on tour' until a suitable new venue, the Victorian Grand Pavilion, was found. Situated by the River Leam in the centre of the town this is the current site of the Company. It had previously been used as a roller skating rink and by The Directorate of Camouflage, part of the Ministry of Home Security during World War Two. It was purchased in 1945 by the company, although two fires in 1958 and 1964 meant that the current theatre building replaced it in 1968. [4]
The main auditorium holds 200 people and is fully air conditioned. There is a smaller performance space, seating 50, called the Douglas Ford studio. [1]
The company is run almost exclusively by volunteers and is a registered charity, receiving no funding from external bodies. The company produces around 9 shows a year in the main auditorium and a smaller number in the studio from a wide range of theatrical genres. Unlike many professional theatres some of the actors often join members of the audience for a drink in the bar after a performance.
Stratford-upon-Avon, commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north-west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Warwick. The town is the southernmost point of the Arden area at the northern extremity of the Cotswolds. In the 2021 census Stratford had a population of 30,495.
Kenilworth is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Coventry and 5 miles (8 km) north of Warwick. The town lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the River Avon 2 miles (3 km) north-east of the town. At the 2021 Census, its population was 22,538. The town is home to the ruins of Kenilworth Castle and Kenilworth Abbey.
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington, is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam, which flows through the town.
Warwick is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is 9 miles (14 km) south of Coventry, and 19 miles (31 km) south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whitnash.
The Royal Ballet and Opera, formerly the Royal Opera House (ROH), is a major performing arts organisation, based at the historic Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The Royal Ballet and Opera is the parent company of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, all based at the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
Warwick is a local government district in Warwickshire, England. It is named after the historic county town of Warwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is Royal Leamington Spa, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Kenilworth and Whitnash and surrounding villages and rural areas. Leamington Spa, Warwick and Whitnash form a conurbation which has about two thirds of the district's population.
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Trinity Catholic School is a mixed Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England.
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Cubbington is a village and civil parish with a population of 3,929, adjoining the north-eastern outskirts of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, approximately 3 miles from the town centre. Welsh Road, running through the village crossroads, was an old sheep drovers' route connecting London and Wales. Since the 1950s when the village expanded there have been two parts to the village: Cubbington proper which was the old village core, and New Cubbington which is to the west, although both are referred to as Cubbington. Topographically the highest point of the village sits about 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level while its lowest is about 60 metres (200 ft). For many years the electorate for Cubbington was represented in government by the MP for Warwick and Leamington but for the 2010 UK Elections it moved to the new Kenilworth & Southam constituency.
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Playbox Theatre Company is a theatre company for children and young people based in Warwick, England. Playbox provide training for children and young people aged 3–25 in various different areas, including theatre training, musical theatre, circus, voice and Shakespeare. Based at their purpose built theatre in Warwick, The Dream Factory, Playbox also run training sessions at various outlying centres including Leamington, Stratford-upon-Avon, Kenilworth, Solihull and Banbury. As well as providing training, Playbox also put on a number of productions throughout the year at The Dream Factory, in addition to international tours.
The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester, England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building, a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 1901 on the former main road of Preston Street, Hulme, and stage access is from Warwick Street. The Hulme Hippodrome theatre is located in the same building and shares a party wall with its small sibling theatre, The Playhouse. The Hippodrome was a music hall and variety theatre, a repertory theatre in the 1940s, and hired on Sundays for recording BBC programmes with live audiences between 1950 and 1956. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a bingo hall, and from 2003 used by a disgraced church. The theatre has been closed since 2018 and a campaign group exists to bring it back into use as a community resource, where the current owner is seeking permission to build apartments. Its local name in memoirs and records is 'Hulme Hipp'. Its national heritage significance includes being the venue for live recording the first three series of BBC programmes by Morecambe and Wise comedians.
Wealthy Theatre is an American movie theatre and performance center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is currently operated by the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, a non-profit corporation. Wealthy Theatre is a mixed-use facility, capable of hosting live music, film, theatre and dance.
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Mary Dormer Harris was a British local historian whose focus was the medieval history of Coventry. She was also a translator, writer and suffragist.
