Bolton Little Theatre is a registered charity located at Hanover Street,

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

BL1 4TG and has a small car park available. It was established in 1931. The theatre is a member of the Bolton Amateur Theatre Societies, The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, which it joined in 1947 and the Greater Manchester Drama Federation. Bolton is the envy of many towns as it has the largest amateur theatre network in the UK. The theatre's Patron is Sir Ian McKellen and this is where this famous British actor started his career shortly after attending

Bolton School Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...

(Boys' Division). “Bolton Little Theatre is a very important part of Bolton ...if you wanted to see plays well done you came down to see the amateurs rather than a professional company... the Little Theatre is full of people with real enthusiasm” Sir Ian McKellen, CBE, CofH, September 2006 The theatre's main proscenium arch auditorium seats 165 in traditional rows and the Forge, an intimate

theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...

has seating for 60. The theatre also has a comfortable bar and exhibition area where one can enjoy a pre-performance drink, or mingle with the cast after the show. The theatre runs theatre workshops and have a youth group for people interested in training in theatre. Members also provide touring productions at outside venues.

Alumni

Past and present famous actors that been associated with Bolton Little Theatre:Bolton Little Theatre Official Site
/ref> * Sir Ian McKellen, CBE, CofH *

Doris Speed Doris Speed, MBE (3 February 1899 – 16 November 1994) was an English actress, best known for her role as landlady of the Rovers Return Inn Annie Walker on ''Coronation Street'', a role she played from the programme's first episode in 1960 un ...

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the ...

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whiteh ...

Simon Trinder Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

Eric Bentley Eric Russell Bentley (September 14, 1916 – August 5, 2020) was a British-born American theater critic, playwright, singer, editor, and translator. In 1998, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the New ...

Other notable alumni include *

Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', '' Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', '' Spooks'' and '' Red Cap'' before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of ...

, the director of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Official Website

Bolton Little Theatre, http://www.boltonlittletheatre.co.uk

References

{{Buildings and structures in Bolton Amateur theatre companies in England