The Wycombe Repertory Theatre, later referred to as the Tower Theatre and the Intimate Theatre, was a

repertory 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 ...

(or ''stock'') theatre in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. It opened in 1946 and closed in 1958.

History

The Wycombe Repertory Theatre opened on 16 December 1946, an event attended by

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

.Dewey, pp. 1–2 The original management consisted of director Ian Dobbie,

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

Nick Simms,

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

Jack Stone, and catering manager Edward Shoesmith, the four of whom had served with the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The first play at the Wycombe was Gerald Savoy's ''George and Margaret''. The theatre contained approximately 300 seats. In March 1952 the theatre, which had undergone various personnel changes since its opening, was renamed to the ''Tower Theatre''. In June 1953, an appeal was made for increased attendance in order to keep the theatre open. Though the theatre did indeed remain open, it was taken over in August of that year by George Radford. The first play produced under this new management was ''

The Gioconda Smile ''Mortal Coils'' is a collection of five short fictional pieces written by Aldous Huxley in 1921. The title uses a phrase from ''Hamlet'', Act 3, Scene 1: : ... To die, to sleep, :To sleep, perchance to dream; aye, there's the rub, :For in that ...

''.Dewey, p. 3 In 1954, management of the theatre changed hands to actor-producer Neil Gibson. The theatre was renamed once again in 1955, this time to the ''Intimate Theatre''. The theatre went on to experience financial difficulties throughout the late 1950s. Attempts to remedy these difficulties included subscription-based ticket sales, the opening of a membership-only licensed bar, and a Supporters' Club dance. While these activities were successful in their own right, they did little to improve the financial situation of the theatre. In April 1957, Gibson announced that he was closing the theatre for the summer. The theatre reopened in July 1957. Despite various attempts to draw in larger crowds, the theatre's financial difficulties continued through 1958. In December of that year, Gibson announced the final closure of the theatre after having presented nearly 400 shows in its 12 years of operation.Dewey, p. 6

Notes

References

* * {{coord, 51.6323, -0.7528, type:landmark_region:GB-BKM, display=title Former theatres in England 1946 establishments in England 1958 disestablishments in England History of Buckinghamshire High Wycombe