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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. The original group was called The Warwick and Leamington Dramatic Study Club [2] 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. [3]
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.
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.
Southam is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is situated on the River Stowe, which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshire's River Itchen at Stoneythorpe, just outside the town.
Warwick is a market town and the county town of Warwickshire, 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. It has ancient origins and an array of historic buildings, notably from the Medieval, Stuart and Georgian eras. It was a major fortified settlement from the early Middle Ages, the most notable relic of this period being Warwick Castle, a major tourist attraction. Much was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 and then rebuilt with fine 18th-century buildings, such as the Collegiate Church of St Mary and the Shire Hall.
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Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders Rugby Borough and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County. The City of Coventry is to the north and northeast, the Stratford-on-Avon District to the southwest and south, the Borough of Rugby to the east, and the Borough of Solihull to the west and northwest.
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