The New Wolsey Theatre is an award-winning producing theatre with a café & bar in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, having a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 400.

History

It replaced The Arts Theatre, the town's much loved and respected Repertory Theatre for many decades and was designed by

Roderick Ham Roderick Thomas Mathieson Ham (September 1925 – 19 January 2017) was a British architect, principally of theatres, who often worked with George Finch. He designed the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, and the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead. ...

for Ipswich & Suffolk New Theatre Trust. Construction was carried out between 1977 and 1979 by Haymills Contractors Ltd with Carr And Angier theatre consultants providing planning advice and design/installation of all technical systems and equipment. From 1979 to 1999 the theatre was operated by The Wolsey Theatre Company, a regional

repertory company A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

. The theatre was known for showing performances of drama, comedy and musical plays and was used almost exclusively as a

producing house A producing house is a theatre which ‘manufactures' its own shows in-house (such as plays, musicals, opera, or dance) and perhaps does everything from honing the script, building the set, casting the actors and designing and making the costum ...

. Due to financial problems dating back to the mid 1990s, the operating company closed the theatre in 1999 and was dissolved. In 2001, the theatre reopened and is owned and operated by the New Wolsey Theatre Company. The New Wolsey Theatre Company is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

with a stated mission of ''presenting high quality, diverse and accessible work'', and operates on a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

basis. The Theatre is now nationally recognised for the quality, diversity and reach of its productions, both as a producer, and in collaboration with a diverse range of visiting artists and companies from across the UK. It’s renowned for staging world premieres and landmark revivals of musicals including ''20th Century Boy'', ''It’s a Wonderful Life'', ''Made in Dagenham,'' ''Never Lost At Home, Once, Our Blue Heaven, Sweet Charity, The Who’s Tommy'' (UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production) and for its annual Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime. The Theatre has always been a champion of making performing arts accessible to all. As a founder member of the ground-breaking Ramps On The Moon, the New Wolsey Theatre is part of a consortium that strives to normalise the presence of deaf and disabled people on and off the stage and in 2017 the Theatre won the UK Theatre Award for the Promotion of Diversity.

Productions

Since its reopening as a producing theatre, The New Wolsey has developed a recognisable house style of actor/musician productions - particularly through their Rock 'n' Roll Panto. Notable productions have included: * ''Reasons To Be Cheerful'', produced with

Graeae Theatre Company Graeae Theatre Company, often abbreviated to just Graeae (pronounced "grey-eye") is a British organisation composed of deaf and disabled artists and theatre makers. As well as producing theatre which it tours nationally and internationally to tradit ...

featuring the music of

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

and

The Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current member ...

- by Paul Sirett, directed by Jenny Sealey (2010) * ''20th Century Boy'', a musical play based on the life of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

and the music of T. Rex - by Peter Rowe, directed by Gary Lloyd (2012). * '' Our House'', a musical play featuring the songs of English

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band Madness - by

Tim Firth Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter. Life and career Firth was born in Frodsham, England. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to Cambrid ...

, directed by Peter Rowe (2013). * ''Our Blue Heaven'', a musical play based on

Ipswich Town Football Club Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

's 1978 FA Cup win - by Peter Rowe, directed by Peter Rowe (2018). * ''The Snow Queen'', a rock 'n' roll pantomime written and directed by Peter Rowe (2020). * ''Jack and the Beanstalk'', a rock 'n' roll pantomime written by Peter Rowe, directed by Kate Golledge (2021). * ''Kinky Boots,'' based on the Miramax motion picture, the musical adaptation features a Tony-Award nominated book by Harvey Fierstein and Tony and Grammy award-winning music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper.

Awards

* UK Theatre Awards 'Best Touring Production' award - ''TOMMY'', directed by Kerry Michael (2017). * UK Theatre Awards 'Promotion of Diversity' award (2017). * UK Pantomime Association Awards 'Best Digital Pantomime' - ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' by Peter Rowe, directed by Kate Golledge (2022).

References

External links

New Wolsey Theatre homepage
{{authority control Theatre companies in England Theatres in Suffolk Buildings and structures in Ipswich