The Prospect Theatre Company was an English company founded, as Prospect Productions, in 1961. Based at the
Arts Theatre, Cambridge from 1964 until 1969, the company, with
Toby Robertson
Sholto David Maurice Robertson (29 November 1928, London - 4 July 2012, London), known as Toby Robertson, was the artistic director of the Prospect Theatre Company from 1964 to 1978. He was recognised as having "re-established the good name and ...
as artistic director and
Richard Cottrell
Richard Cottrell (born 15 August 1936) is an English theatre director. He has been the Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company and the Bristol Old Vic in England, and of the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia. He has also directed for the Ro ...
as associate director, toured both nationally and internationally with a mainly classical repertoire, providing notable appearances of such actors as
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
and
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...
. The company became closely associated with the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
after its first appearance there in 1967. Separating from the Arts Theatre in 1969, the company, renamed The Prospect Theatre Company, survived without a permanent base for the next eight years under the direction of Toby Robertson, mounting productions in which
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
and
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...
made significant appearances. Eventually the company found a new home at London's
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
in 1977: two years later it became the Old Vic Theatre Company. Though noted for its exemplary ensemble playing, the company lost its
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...
funding in 1980 after Timothy West's first season as Robertson's successor, leading to Prospect's demise.
Early years, Cambridge and Edinburgh
Iain Mackintosh
Iain MacKintosh (20 July 1932 – 28 August 2006, Glasgow, Scotland) was a Scottish singer and songwriter.
Early life
MacKintosh' father was from the Outer Hebrides, a watchmaker and goldsmith who owned a pawnshop in Glasgow; his mother came ...
,
Richard Cottrell
Richard Cottrell (born 15 August 1936) is an English theatre director. He has been the Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company and the Bristol Old Vic in England, and of the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia. He has also directed for the Ro ...
and
Elizabeth Sweeting formed Prospect Productions in 1961 to present a summer season of plays at the
Oxford Playhouse
Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum.
History
The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...
. A successful first season led to a further season in 1962. The following year, when the Playhouse closed for renovations, Prospect became a touring company associated with the
Century Theatre.
Toby Robertson
Sholto David Maurice Robertson (29 November 1928, London - 4 July 2012, London), known as Toby Robertson, was the artistic director of the Prospect Theatre Company from 1964 to 1978. He was recognised as having "re-established the good name and ...
directed the last play of the season,
Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restorat ...
's ''
The Provoked Wife
''The Provoked Wife'' (1697) is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. It made its first appearance in Lincoln's Inn Fields in May, 1697. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy ''The Provoked Wife'' in th ...
'', with
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...
and
Trevor Martin
Trevor Gordon Martin (17 November 1929 – 5 October 2017) was a British stage and film actor known for playing popular British characters.
Early life and education
Martin's parents were from Dundee; he was raised in Enfield, and after m ...
. The production opened the newly restored
Georgian Theatre Royal
The Georgian Theatre Royal is a theatre and historic Georgian playhouse in the market town of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is among the oldest of Britain's extant theatres.
It was built in 1788 by the actor-manager Samuel Butler (1 ...
in
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...
, then transferred to the
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...
, London. The success of the Oxford seasons prompted the idea that Prospect should present productions beyond the summer season each year.
In 1964, with support from the
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...
and
Dr. George Rylands, Prospect became a touring company based at the
Arts Theatre, Cambridge, with Toby Robertson as artistic director, Richard Cottrell as associate director, and Iain Mackintosh as administrator. Between 1964 and 1966 Prospect staged 15 productions, presenting well-known plays as well as several rarely performed Classics including Vanbrugh's ''
The Confederacy
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized Secession in the United States, breakaway republic in the ...
'', with
Robert Eddison
Robert Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in ''Indiana Jones and the Last C ...
and
Hy Hazell
Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins (4 October 1919 – 10 May 1970), stage name Hy Hazell, was a British actress of theatre, musicals and revue as well as a contralto singer and film actress. AllMusic described her as "an exuberant comic actor and lively ...
, to celebrate the third centenary of Vanbrugh's birth, and
Etherege
Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, '' She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode o ...
's ''
The Man of Mode
''The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter'' is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676. The play is set in Restoration London and follows the womanizer Dorimant as he tries to win over the young heiress Harriet and to diseng ...
'', and a number of new plays.
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...
joined the Company in 1966 to play
Prospero
Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...
. Later that year Prospect had its first invitation to the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
.
[
Prospect's first Edinburgh Festival appearance in 1967 was with ]Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's ''The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...
'', Lila Kedrova
Yelizaveta Nikolaevna Kedrova (Russian: Елизавета Николаевна Кедрова; 9 October 1909 – 16 February 2000), known as Lila Kedrova, was a Russian-born French actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actre ...
playing Madam Ranyevskaya in Cottrell's production. The production transferred to London, where Kedrova won the ''Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' Best Actress of the Year Award. 1968 saw the production of Prospect's first "musical" - Gay's ''Beggar's Opera
''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sat ...
'', which was also the first Prospect show to be televised, and in 1969 the Company appeared for the first time at the Assembly Hall.[
At the 1969 Edinburgh festival ]Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
made his breakthrough performances with the company as Richard II (directed by Cottrell) and Marlowe's Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
(directed by Robertson), the latter in the play's first professional revival for 300 years and causing a storm of protest over the enactment of the homosexual Edward's lurid death. Timothy West appeared as McKellen's sparring partner in both those productions,[ which subsequently toured Britain and Europe before being staged at the ]Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...
in London and breaking box-office records at the Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England.
Early years
Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...
.
Between 1967 and 1977 Prospect was invited to appear at eight Edinburgh International Festivals, and largely as a result of its close association with the Edinburgh Festival, Prospect was asked to tour abroad for the British Council, visiting the Middle East, Russia, Hong Kong, and Australia.[
]
Years of touring
In 1969 the Company was asked to extend its touring to the large "No 1" theatres in the regions; at the same time the Cambridge Arts Theatre wanted Prospect to help in the formation of a new theatre company. As these two developments pointed in totally different directions with implications of a conflicting scale of work, Richard Cottrell left Prospect to become director of the newly formed Cambridge Theatre Company
Cambridge Arts Theatre is a 666-seat theatre on Peas Hill and St Edward's Passage in central Cambridge, England. The theatre presents a varied mix of drama, dance, opera and pantomime. It attracts some of the highest-quality touring productions ...
: Toby Robertson became director of Prospect, and its role as the UK's leading touring company was recognised, with its new name - The Prospect Theatre Company.[
Under Robertson, the company pioneered a style of production in which stage designs and setting were kept to a minimum, partly from the belief that Shakespeare's plays in particular benefited from an uncluttered approach; this style also suited the company's needs when touring regional theatres, for which flexibility of staging was essential.][ Emphasis was placed instead on quality acting and strikingly designed costumes, complemented by lighting and incidental music.][ ]Carl Davis
Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961.
He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...
composed several scores for the company, including for a modern dress production of ''Love's Labours Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as ...
'' (1971), ''Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
'' (1973), and ''Pilgrim's Progress'' (1974/5) which led directly to the musical ''War Music'' (1977) with words by Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue, CBE (23 November 1926 – 2 December 2011)Mark EspineObituary: Christopher Logue ''The Guardian'', 2 December 2011 was an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival, and a pacifist.
Life
Born in Portsmouth, ...
and music by Donald Fraser.[
From 1970 to 1976 four major productions were created each year. As the only major company touring nationally, the choice of repertoire tended to be drawn more from the classics at the expense of new work. But alongside several Shakespeare productions the company staged such plays as ]Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for '' Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682).
Life
Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his fathe ...
's ''Venice Preserv'd
''Venice Preserv'd'' is an English Restoration play written by Thomas Otway, and the most significant tragedy of the English stage in the 1680s. It was first staged in 1682, with Thomas Betterton as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. The ...
'', Charles Macklin
Charles Macklin (26 September 1699 – 11 July 1797), (Gaelic: Cathal MacLochlainn, English: Charles McLaughlin), was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in ...
's ''The Man of the World'', Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
's '' A Month in the Country'' (with Derek Jacobi, Timothy West and Dorothy Tutin, who won two major acting awards for her performance), Chekhov's '' Ivanov'', and Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films.
Early life
Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
's '' Royal Hunt of the Sun''. A series of chamber works were commissioned, including Jane McCulloch's ''The Grand Tour'' for the Entry into Europe celebrations - an entertainment seen in London, Edinburgh, and the 1974 Brighton Festival.[
The strain of touring and meeting the increasingly high standards expected by theatre audiences throughout the country began to tell, and even with occasional London seasons either at the ]Round House
Roundhouse may refer to:
Architecture and buildings Types
* Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world
** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...
or in the West end, it was felt increasingly desirable that Prospect should once again have a permanent and preferably metropolitan base to sustain its regional work.[Rowell, p. 157]
Joining the Old Vic
Looking for a suitable London base, Robertson believed that the Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
would best meet the company's needs and would add lustre to its reputation. For two years he sustained a campaign for the Old Vic to make Prospect its resident company.[ For the Old Vic, Robertson's overtures proved increasingly hard to resist in the face of poor box office returns achieved by productions staged by other companies at the theatre; against this, Prospect staged a highly successful season which opened in May 1977, including ''Hamlet'' with Derek Jacobi, '']Antony and Cleopatra
''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...
'' with Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions.
Early life
McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...
and Dorothy Tutin; and '' Saint Joan'' with Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...
.[Rowell, p. 158] In July the Governors of The Old Vic announced "a marriage that was all but a merger" between the Vic and Prospect. In September Toby Robertson, director of Prospect, was asked to take artistic control of The Old Vic, and Christopher Richards, general manager of The Old Vic, became general manager of Prospect.[
One major problem, though, was the terms of Prospect's funding by the Arts Council: this was on the basis of it being a touring company, and the Council - already funding the National Theatre and the ]Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
in London - could not accept a case for a third major company in the capital and repeatedly refused requests to fund any London seasons staged by Prospect. Therefore any London-based productions would have to succeed financially without Arts Council support. Prospect's first season at the Old Vic recouped its costs but left no surplus to fund future productions. Further stagings by visiting companies were box office failures and stretched the theatre's finances to breaking point.
Yet Prospect continued to draw audiences to the Old Vic where other companies failed. The company played a five-month season from January to May 1978, adding ''Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' to their repertory, and a four-month season from September to December presenting ''The Rivals
''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...
'', ''The Lady's Not for Burning
''The Lady's Not for Burning'' is a 1948 play by Christopher Fry.
A romantic comedy in three acts, in verse, it is set in the Middle Ages ("1400, either more or less or exactly"). It reflects the world's "exhaustion and despair" following Wor ...
'' with Atkins, and ''King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' with Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...
in the title role. In December that year, the governors of the Old Vic agreed to a five-year contract with Prospect, announcing to the press on 23 April that henceforth they would be styled "Prospect Productions Ltd., trading as the Old Vic Company".[Rowell, p. 160] Unfortunately Prospect's touring commitments kept the company out of the theatre for the first half of 1979, leaving the theatre to sink further into debt. The company returned in July with Jacobi's ''Hamlet'' (toured afterwards to Denmark, Australia and China, the first English theatre company to tour that country),[ followed by '']Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', and ''The Government Inspector
''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pla ...
'' with Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor.
He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...
.[ The following season, however, proved controversial: the double bill of ''The Padlock'' and '']Miss in Her Teens
''Miss in Her Teens; or The Medley of Lovers'' is a farce (or afterpiece) written in 1747 by David Garrick. It was adapted from Florent Carton Dancourt's 1691 play ''La Parisienne''. It was the third play written by Garrick, and was first perfo ...
'', to mark the bicentenary of David Garrick
David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...
's death, and a revival of '' What the Butler Saw'' were deemed by the Arts Council unsuitable for touring repertory.[ An internal report by Prospect now questioned "whether Prospect can any longer satisfy the triple task of filling the Vic, of satisfying the rts CouncilDirector of Touring's requirements for product of a certain familiar sort, and of realising the vision of Toby Robertson".][Quoted in Rowell, p. 160]
Robertson was in effect fired from the post of artistic director in 1980 while he was abroad with the company in China, Timothy West replacing him.[ The following season, West's first as Robertson's successor, saw ''Macbeth'' with ]Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...
, ''The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
'' with West as Shylock, and a gala performance presented to the Queen Mother to celebrate her eightieth birthday.[ On 22 December 1980, four days after the gala performance, the Arts Council withdrew its funding from the Company, sealing its demise.][Rowell, p. 161] In January the company left for its pre-arranged tour of Hong Kong and Australia. Appeals to the Council for funding to be reinstated were denied. The company gave a final season at the Old Vic staging ''The Merchant of Venice'', then gave a final tour of Europe, giving its last performance in Rome on 14 June before disbanding.[
]
References
Sources
*
{{authority control
Shakespearean theatre companies
Theatre companies in England
Theatre companies in London
Touring theatre