Plain Clothes Theatre Productions is a

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

-based theatre company producing contemporary plays from around the globe. Formed in 2003 by artistic director Sam Berge

the company has produced work in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Their work has included plays by

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

Laura Wade Laura Wade is an English playwright. Early life Wade was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire. She grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where her father worked for a computer company. After completing her secondary education at Lady Manners School i ...

and

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

, and their style is based around the teachings of American acting coach

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...

Formation of the Company

The company was formed in 2003 by Sam Berger to coincide with his graduation from the MA Directing course from

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

, London. The company initially consisted of three core members - as well as Sam Berger, Catherine Hoare designed set and costume and Dirk Mandlebrot produced sound effects and chose music for their shows. Their first production was

's '

Entertaining Mr. Sloane ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' is a three-act play written in 1963 by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964. Plo ...

' which ran at the White Bear Theatre in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

, London.

Plain Clothes Theatre in Canada

After their inaugural production Plain Clothes Theatre's work moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in conjunction with Sam Berger's move there. A number of co-productions took place, including development of a new musical, ''Plane Crazy'', in

with M. Rubinoff Productions and '' Closer'' by

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

with Paige 18 Productions in

. In 2005 they undertook a site-specific production of Duck Variations by

. The play was to be shown in

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

. However, a week before the show went up the park authorities decided to stop the production. No reason has ever been clearly given.

UK productions

''Blue/Orange''

Plain Clothes' are touring

Joe Penhall Joe Scott Penhall (born 1967) is an English-Australian playwright and screenwriter, best known for his award-winning stage play ''Blue/Orange'', the award-winning West End musical ''Sunny Afternoon'' and creating the Netflix original series '' ...

's ''

Blue/Orange ''Blue/Orange'' is a play written by English dramatist, Joe Penhall. The play is a sardonically comic piece which touches on race, mental illness and 21st-century British life. Productions The play premiered in the Cottesloe Theatre at the ...

'' around the South-West of England in Autumn 2008. Venues include the

Tobacco Factory The Tobacco Factory is the last remaining part of the old W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco factory site on Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. It was saved from demolition by the architect and former mayor of the city George Ferguson (architect), George ...

, Bristol; Cheltenham Everyman Studio, Swindon Arts Centre and the

Rondo Theatre The Rondo Theatre, in Bath, was established in 1989. The theatre is located in the former church hall of St. Saviours Church, Larkhall Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around sout ...

, Bath. PRODUCTION STAFF
Director - Sam Berger
Designer - Danielle Bassett
Producer (Tour Management) - Rachel McNally
Producer (Publicity & Marketing) - Lucie Rennie
Stage Manager - Heather Readdy CAST
Bruce - Christopher Tester
Christopher - Colin Dunkley
Robert - Chris Bianchi

''Breathing Corpses''

In 2007 the company produced

's ''Breathing Corpses'' again at the Alma Tavern pub theatre. This play received excellent reviews and again sold out for the majority of its run. '' Venue magazine'' described the play as "brilliant...constantly unexpected, gripping, lifelike and not a cliché in site" and gave it a five-star review. The ''

Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'' commented "Plain Clothes are destined for bigger things. Future productions will have a hard act to follow." Following the success of the run, the play transferred to the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre in October. At the end of the year '' Venue magazine'' awarded the play 'Best Theatre of 2007'. PRODUCTION STAFF
Director - Sam Berger
Producer - Lucie Rennie
Set and Costume Design - Catherine Hoare
Lighting Design - James Kennard
Tour Assistant - Danielle Bassett
Lighting Ops (Cheltenham) - Adrian Henderson CAST
Amy - Charlotte Ellis
Jim - David Angus
Elaine - Dee Sadler
Ray - Dave Rogers
Kate - Georgina Carey
Ben - Tom Turner
Charlie - Ashley Callum

''Problem Child'' & ''Criminal Genius''

In 2006 the company produced a double bill of plays by Canadian playwright George F. Walker from his 'Suburban Motel' collection of plays; namely ''Problem Child'' and ''Criminal Genius''. The show ran at Bristol's Alma Tavern pub theatre over March and April gleaning good reviews and sell-out audiences. PRODUCTION STAFF
Director - Sam Berger
Designer - Catherine Hoare
Stage Manager - Adrian Henderson
Sound Design - Dirk Mandlebrot CAST
''Problem Child''
RJ - Tom Turner
Denise - Maria Hodson
Phillie - Toby W. Davies
Helen - Natasha Black ''Criminal Genius''
Rolly - Steven Boswell
Stevie - Henry Barrett
Phillie - Toby W. Davies
Shirley - Maria Hodson
Amanda - Natasha Black

External links

Plain Clothes Theatre Productions website
{{authority control Theatre companies in the United Kingdom