The Watermill Theatre is a producing theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has staged works that have subsequently moved on to the West End, including the 2004 revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which also transferred to Broadway in 2006.[2] The theatre has become recognised in particular for its focus on actor-musician led productions, and for focusing on accessibility within theatre.[3] In particular, the theatre has pioneered the concept of Integrated British Sign Language performances, which is a style of interpreted performance wherein the interpreters perform on stage as part of the cast, as opposed to remaining by the side of the stage.[4]
In 2024 the Watermill Theatre was recognised as The Theatre of the Year by The Stage, which is an accolade that it shares with the National Theatre.[5]
History
The theatre is situated in Bagnor Mill, a former corn mill on the River Lambourn in Bagnor, Berkshire.[6] The site is named in the Domesday Book, which references a watermill in Bagnor, though the current building is much more recent. It opened as a 113-seat amateur theatre in 1965, having been converted by David Gollins.[7] In 1967 the theatre was expanded with the addition of a fly system and lighting control,[7] and housed its first professional productions.[8] In 1971, the auditorium was rebuilt to allow a capacity of 170.[7]
In the mid-2000s, Fraser sought to sell the theatre to ensure its long-term future. The "Save The Watermill" appeal was founded to raise funds to allow the board of trustees to purchase the theatre. Fraser died from cancer in February 2006. In 2008 it was announced that funds had been met for the theatre's purchase.,[7] This amazing achievement was thanks to a whole host of people and organisations. Over 4,000 individuals, trusts, foundations, and businesses gave money to the appeal, which was also supported by David Suchet, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Cleo Laine, John Dankworth and David Soul.[7]
Fraser was succeeded as artistic director by Hedda Beeby who was recognised in the UK Theatre Awards where she was voted Theatre Manager of the year in 2014.[7] Paul Hart, the incumbent artistic director, was appointed as Beeby's successor in 2015.[7]
One of The Watermill's legacies is The Propeller Company. The all-male Shakespeare company Propeller started life at The Watermill under the direction of Edward Hall with the support of artistic director Jill Fraser in the mid-1990s. The first Propeller show was Henry V, and was performed in the Watermill Gardens – and on the roof! Propeller productions toured both the UK and abroad, including Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, the US and more. Members of Propeller included: Dugald Bruce Lockhart, Bob Barrett, Richard Dempsey, Sam Swainsbury and Richard Clothier. Propeller won several awards, including winner of the 1999 Barclays Theatre Award for Best Director (1999), Best Touring Production (2002) Winner of the 2003 TMA Theatres Best Touring Production, Winner of 2004 Jeff Award for Best Director and Winner of 2007 OBIE Award.[7]
Awards
Theatre
In 2024 the Watermill Theatre was recognised as The Theatre of the Year by The Stage, which is an accolade that it shares with the National Theatre.[5]
In 2024 the theatre was name Community Charity of the Year by the Greenham Trust at their annual awards ceremony, in recognition of their outreach programme.[10]
Shows
Sweeny Todd (2006) received two Olivier Awards, after transferring from the Watermill.[11]
[14] 2025 – An Autobiography of a Cad by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, Emil and the Detectives (Youth Theatre), Piaf, Three Hens in a Boat[15]
2024 – Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood, Wendy & Peter Pan (Youth Theatre), Fanny, Much Ado About Nothing, Barnum, The King's Speech, Pinocchio by Pinocchio (by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Simon Reade)[16]
2023 – Notes from a Small Island, Through the Looking Glass, Visitors, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Mansfield Park, The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale, Macbeth, The Wizard of Oz
2022 – The Wicker Husband, The Girl of Ink and Stars (Youth Theatre), Bleak Expectations, Camp Albion, Our Man in Havana, Whistle Down The Wind, Othello, The Sleeping Sword (Michael Morpurgo), A Monster Calls (Youth Theatre), Rapunzel
2021 – The Jungle Book, Brief Encounter, Just So, As you like it, The Hound of the Baskervilles
2020 – A Christmas Carol, Lone Flyer, Bloodshot, Camelot, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Wicker Husband
2019 – The Prince and the Pauper, A Midsummer Night's Dream, One Million Tiny Plays about Britain, Assassins, Kiss me Kate, Our Church, The Importance of Being Earnest, Amelie (followed by tour and west end run), Macbeth
2018 – Robin Hood, Jane Eyre (plus schools tour), Trial by Laughter by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, Sweet Charity, Jerusalem, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Burke and Hare (plus rural tour and London transfer), The Rivals, Digging for Victory (Youth Theatre), Teddy (transferred to The Vaults)
2017 – The Borrowers, Our Town (Youth, Under Milk Wood, Loot, The Picture of Dorian Grey, A Little Night Music, The Millers Child (Youth Theatre), Nesting, House and Garden, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night (London transfer), Faust, Murder for Two (uk tour plus london transfer)
2016 – Sleeping Beauty, Youth Theatre, Frankenstein, The Wipers Times, by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman (uk tour and London transfer), Watership Down, Crazy for You, Untold Stories, Amateurs, One Million Tiny Plays About Britain (tour), The Railway Children, Romeo and Juliet, Tell me on a Sunday – starring Jodie Prenger
2015 – The Secret Adversary (Youth Show), Tuxedo Junction, Far from the Madding Crowd, Amateurs, Deep Blue Sea, Youth Show, Little History of the World, Oliver!, Ladykillers, Macbeth, Gormenghast, Alice in Wonderland
2014 – Peter Pan, Twelfth Night, But First This, Hamlet, Journey's End, Calamity Jane, Hardboiled – the Fall of Sam Shadow (July 2014), A Bunch of Amateurs (May 2014), The Canterbury Tales (May 2014), Sense and Sensibility (April 2014), Life Lessons (March 2014), All My Sons (February 2014), The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (January 2014)
2013 – Pinocchio (November 2013), Sherlock's Last Case (September 2013), Romeo+Juliet (September 2013 and on tour), The Witches of Eastwick (July 2013), Laurel & Hardy (June 2013), The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (May 2013), The Miser (April 2013), David Copperfield (March 2013), Sleuth (February 2013)
2012 – Arabian Nights (November 2012), The Tempest (September 2012), Thoroughly Modern Millie (August 2012), Ben Hur (June 2012), Of Mice and Men (May 2012), Love on the Tracks (April 2012 and on tour), Henry V and The Winter's Tale (April 2012), Lettice and Lovage (February 2012)
2011 – The Wind in the Willows (November 2011), Some Like It Hotter (November 2011 and on tour), Great Expectations (September 2011), Radio Times (August 2011), The Marriage of Figaro (July 2011), Moonlight and Magnolias (May 2011), Richard III and The Comedy of Errors (April 2011), The Clodly Light Opera and Drama Society (March 2011), Relatively Speaking (February 2011)
2010 – Treasure Island (November 2010), Single Spies (September 2010), Copacabana (July 2010), Daisy Pulls It Off (June 2010), Brontë (April 2010), Raising Voices (March 2010), Confused Love (March 2010), Heroes (February 2010)
2009 – James and the Giant Peach (November 2009), Educating Rita (October 2009), Spend Spend Spend! (July 2009 and September 2010), Blithe Spirit (May 2009), Bubbles (April to May and September to October 2009), A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice (March 2009), Life X 3 (January 2009)
2008, Matilda and Duffy's Stupendous Space Adventure (November 2008), The Sirens' Call (November 2008), Our Country's Good (September 2008), The Recruiting Officer (October 2008), Sunset Boulevard (July 2008), Black Comedy and The Bowmans (May 2008), London Assurance (April 2008), Micky Salberg's Crystal Ballroom Dance Band (April 2008 and on tour), Great West Road (March 2008), Merrily We Roll Along (March 2008)
2007 – Honk! (November 2007), Rope (September 2007), Martin Guerre (July 2007), Twelfth Night (June 2007), The Story of a Great Lady (April and September 2007, and on tour), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (April 2007), For Services Rendered (March 2007), Plunder (January 2007)
2006 – The Snow Queen (November 2006), Peter Pan in Scarlet (October 2006), The Taming of the Shrew (September 2006 and on tour in 2007), Hot Mikado (July 2006 and September 2009), Hobson's Choice (May 2006), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (April 2006), Tartuffe (February 2006)
2005 – The Jungle Book (November 2005), The Gilded Lilies (October 2005), Copenhagen (September 2005), The Garden of Llangoed (September 2005 and September 2006), Thieves' Carnival (July 2005), The Shed (July 2005), Mack and Mabel (May 2005), The Odyssey (May 2005), Broken Glass (April 2005), The Winter's Tale (January 2005)
2004 – Arabian Nights (December 2004), Whose Life is it Anyway? (November 2004), Multiplex (November 2004), Neville's Island (September 2004), The Comedian (September 2004 and March 2005), Raising Voices Again (September 2004), Pinafore Swing (July 2004), The Venetian Twins (May 2004), The Gentleman from Olmedo (April 2004), Mr & Mrs Schultz (March 2004 and on tour), Sweeney Todd (February 2004)
2003 – The Emperor and the Nightingale (November 2003), An Ideal Husband (November 2003), A Star Danced (September 2003), The Fourth Fold (September 2003), The Last Days of the Empire (July 2003), Accelerate (July 2003), Dreams from a Summer House (May 2003), The Triumph of Love (April 2003), Gigolo (March 2003), Raising Voices (March 2003), A Midsummer Night's Dream (February 2003)
2002 – The Firebird (November 2002), Ten Cents a Dance (September 2002), Dancing at Lughnasa (July 2002), Love in a Maze (June 2002), Fiddler on the Roof (April 2002), I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls by Ade Morris (March 2002 and March 2006), Only a Matter of Time (February 2002)
2001, Cinderella and the Enchanted Slipper (November 2001), Piaf (October 2001), The Merchant of Venice (October 2001), Witch (September 2001), The Clandestine Marriage (August 2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (May 2001), Gondoliers (March 2001), Rose Rage (February 2001)
2000 – Carmen (July 2000)
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2021)
The theatre ended 2021 with Tom Jackson Greaves's adaptation of The Jungle Book.[20][21]WhatsOnStage described the use of they/them pronouns for Mowgli as "wonderfully inclusive",[22] although a review in The Times said that "in its eagerness to put across its message of inclusivity the show is sometimes over-earnest".[20]
In 2023, they staged a 12-week scaled-down revival of Lord of the Rings, which received the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production.[citation needed] It also received nine Broadway World Awards, including Best New Production of a Musical[13] This production went on to debut in the US at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2024.,[23] and transferred to New Zealand in November 2024[24]
Touring and Transfers
The Watermill has a strong history of producing theatre that goes on to tour the UK, transfer to the West End, and has even had success with taking shows internationally.
2024 The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale debuted in the US at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2024,[23] and transferred to New Zealand in November 2024.[24] It is due to open in Australia in 2025, and will return to the UK before touring Europe in late 2025.[25]
In 2024 the theatre was name Community Charity of the Year by the Greenham Trust at their annual awards ceremony, in recognition of their outreach programme.[10]
The Watermill runs a "Careers in the Arts" programme, in collaboration with Corn Exchange Newbury, which inspires and educates young people through work experience, workshops, and traineeships.[11]
Associate Artists
The Watermill currently works with a number of creative individuals as Associate Artists, including;[11]
Judi Dench delivered a talk at the theatre in 2024 as a special fundraising event[37].
Patrick Stewart delivered a talk in 2011, discussing his experience as an actor, as part of a fundraising event[38].
Sean Bean performed in his professional debut, playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet at the Watermill in 1983.[33]
Ncuti Gatwa performed as the Captain in the 2018 production of The Rivals.[39]
Audrey Brisson played Amelie, in Amelie (2019) and was later nominated for an Olivier award for this role.[40]
Louis Maskell performed in Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale as Frodo, and has subsequently been announced as the latest actor to play King George in the long-standing West End production of Hamilton.[41]
Jodie Prenger has performed in two productions at the Watermill, in Tell me on a Sunday and Calamity Jane.[42]
Bill Nighy began his career at the Watermill, first as assistant stage manager, and then in The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore which was his professional debut.[33]
Luke Sheppard directed Oliver! at the Watermill in 2015 and Murder for Two in 2017.[33]
David Suchet reportedly worked at the Watermill early on in his career.[44]
Funding
The Watermill is a registered charity and receives funding from a variety of sources. It was previously funded by Arts Council England, as part of their National Portfolio Organisation funding scheme, which highlights cultural institutions that it believed to be of national importance. In 2022, the Arts Council announced the conclusion of a major review into its funding strategy, which resulted in many cultural organisations having their funding cut, including the Watermill which lost 100% of its funding.[45]
The theatre also receives funding in the form of individual donations by members of the public, donations from Trusts and Foundations as well as through corporate funding schemes.[46] Income is also generated through the sale of tickets for the shows, and sale of merchandise.
In 2020, the theatre accepted a £500,000 donation from the Sackler family, the billionaire American family accused of contributing to the opioid crisis through the drug OxyContin.[47] In January 2024, the New York Times contacted 30 institutions which were previously recipients of Sackler money, 29 of which confirmed that they no longer accepted money from the family. The Watermill Theatre was the only institution which declined to comment.[48]
Related Research Articles
Bagnor is a village close to the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire and situated on the banks of the River Lambourn. At the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of Speen. It is best known as the home of the Watermill Theatre.
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