Redgrave Theatre, Farnham

The Redgrave Theatre was a theatre in Farnham in Surrey from 1974 to 1998. The theatre, named after Sir Michael Redgrave, had regular repertory seasons and also staged a variety of plays and musical productions until financial difficulties forced it to close. Now demolished, the surrounding site is under redevelopment.

In January 2018, the Redgrave Theatre was finally approved for demolition. As of March 2019, the theatre is currently being demolished to make room for the "Brightwells Yard development".

History and present day

A modern, purpose-built theatre designed by architect Frank Rutter, the Redgrave Theatre replaced the Castle Theatre in Farnham which had opened for Farnham Repertory Company in 1941, and which operated as a weekly repertory theatre. Eventually, Farnham Repertory Company outgrew its premises and moved to the newly built Redgrave Theatre in 1973. The first Artistic Director was Ian Mullins (1929–2014) from 1974 to 1977, followed by David Horlock from 1978 to 1979, Stephen Barry taking the position from 1982 to 1986, Patrick Sandford from 1986 to 1988, Graham Watkins from 1988 to 1994 and Roland Jaquarello from 1994 to 1995.

Located in the town's East Street, the Redgrave Theatre was given the family name of actor Sir Michael Redgrave who inaugurated the start of the theatre's construction in September 1971. Judi Dench was among the founding members. The theatre officially opened on 29 May 1974 and commenced with a production of '' Romeo and Juliet'' attended by Princess Margaret. Princess Margaret returned to the theatre in 1984 to join the celebrations surrounding the Redgrave's tenth anniversary. She watched a performance of ''David and Jonathan'' which had been specially commissioned by local playwright William Douglas-Home and which had George Waring and Sean Bean in the cast.

The Redgrave Theatre was mainly funded by the local community at a cost of £260,000 and was built in the grounds of the Grade II listed Brightwell House, which dates to the 1790s, and is attached to the house itself. Brightwell House supplied a restaurant (the Castle Restaurant) and club room, with offices and dressing rooms above. The Redgrave Theatre was built with an orchestra pit for 10 musicians and with a stage equipped with a permanent revolve. The auditorium was a plain concrete structure, fan shaped in a single rake. The theatre's foyer was extended in 1986 but facilities were limited.

Among those who appeared at the theatre were Zoë Wanamaker, Stephen Mangan, Fiona Fullerton, Prunella Scales, Tom Watt, Sandra Payne, Philippa Urquhart, David McAlister, Christopher Cazenove, Angharad Rees, Lisa Bowerman, George Waring, Sean Bean, Ian Bartholomew, Stephanie Turner, Gareth Thomas, Christopher Timothy, Maureen Lipman, James Bolam, Bernard Holley, David Hargreaves, Jack McKenzie, Simon Callow, William Gaunt and Rachel Kempson, the widow of Sir Michael Redgrave.

The theatre company Cheek by Jowl premiered its production of '' As You Like It'' at the theatre in July 1991 before a run at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. A 1991 production of ''The Seven Descents of Myrtle'' at the Redgrave starring Kit Hollerbach as Myrtle and Stephen Hattersley as Chicken led to Hattersley winning Best Actor 1991 in the TMA Awards for his performance.

In 1981, the Redgrave Theatre staged the first revival of Noël Coward's ''Cavalcade'' in a production directed by David Horlock (1942–1990) and with a cast of 12 professional actors and 300 amateur performers. The production was filmed by the BBC
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