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Royal Court Theatre

April 17, 2023

For the theatre in Liverpool, see Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999.

Royal Court Theatre
1870: New Chelsea Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre in 2020
AddressSloane Square
London, SW1
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°29′33″N 0°09′24″W / 51.492583°N 0.156583°W / 51.492583; -0.156583Coordinates: 51°29′33″N 0°09′24″W / 51.492583°N 0.156583°W / 51.492583; -0.156583
Public transit Sloane Square
OwnerEnglish Stage Company
DesignationGrade II listed
TypeNon-commercial theatre
CapacityTheatre Downstairs: 380
Theatre Upstairs: 85
Construction
Opened1870; 153 years ago (1870)
Rebuilt1888 (Walter Emden & Bertie Crewe)
2000 (Haworth Tompkins)
Website
royalcourttheatre.com

History

The first theatre

The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre.[a]

 
Scene from The Happy Land, showing the scandalous impersonation of Gladstone, Lowe, and Ayrton (1873)

Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including Randall's Thumb, Creatures of Impulse (with music by Alberto Randegger), Great Expectations (adapted from the Dickens novel), and On Guard (all in 1871); The Happy Land (1873, with Gilbert Abbott à Beckett; Gilbert's most controversial play); The Wedding March, translated from Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie by Eugène Marin Labiche (1873); The Blue-Legged Lady, translated from La Dame aux Jambes d'Azur by Labiche and Marc-Michel (1874); and Broken Hearts (1875). By 1878, management of the theatre was shared by John Hare and W. H. Kendal.[1]

Further alterations were made in 1882 by Alexander Peebles, after which its capacity was 728 (including stalls and boxes, dress circle and balcony, amphitheatre, and gallery).[2] After that, Arthur Cecil (who had joined the theatre's company in 1881) was co-manager of the theatre with John Clayton.[3] Among other works, they produced a series of Arthur Wing Pinero's farces, including The Rector, The Magistrate (1885), The Schoolmistress (1886), and Dandy Dick (1887), among others.[4] The theatre closed on 22 July 1887 and was demolished.[5]

The current theatre: 1888–1952

The present building was built on the east side of Sloane Square, replacing the earlier building, and opened on 24 September 1888 as the New Court Theatre. Designed by Walter Emden and Bertie Crewe, it is constructed of fine red brick, moulded brick, and a stone facade in free Italianate style. Originally the theatre had a capacity of 841 in the stalls, dress circle, amphitheatre, and a gallery.

Cecil and Clayton yielded management of the theatre to Mrs. John Wood and Arthur Chudleigh in 1887, although Cecil continued acting in their company (and others) until 1895.[3] The first production in the new building was a play by Sydney Grundy titled Mamma, starring Mrs. John Wood and John Hare, with Arthur Cecil and Eric Lewis.[6] By the end of the century, the theatre was again called the "Royal Court Theatre".[7]

Harley Granville-Barker managed the theatre for the first few years of the 20th century, and George Bernard Shaw's plays were produced at the New Court for a period. It ceased to be used as a theatre in 1932, but was used as a cinema from 1935 to 1940, until World War II bomb damage closed it.[2]

The English Stage Company

After the war, the interior was reconstructed as a stage theatre by Robert Cromie, and the number of seats was reduced to under 500. The theatre re-opened in 1952,[8] with Oscar Lewenstein as the general manager. In 1954, Lewenstein, together with George Devine, Ronald Duncan and Greville Poke, founded the English Stage Company (ESC) with a mission to present plays by young and experimental dramatists and "the best contemporary plays from abroad".[9] Devine served as the first artistic director of the ESC, while Poke was its Honorary Secretary.[10] The ESC purchased the Royal Court in 1956 and began to produce adventurous new and foreign works, together with some classical revivals.[11]

The new company's third production in 1956, John Osborne's Look Back in Anger, was a play by one of the Angry Young Men. The director was Tony Richardson. Osborne followed Look Back in Anger with The Entertainer, starring Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice, a play the actor effectively commissioned from the playwright. The artistic board of the ESC initially rejected the play, although they soon reversed that decision. Two members of the board opposed The Entertainer: Duncan disliked Osborne's work, according to the biographer John Heilpern,[12][b] while Lewenstein, a former Communist,[14] did not want one of the theatre's new plays to be overwhelmed by its star and did not think much of the play.[12]

In the mid-1960s, the ESC became involved in issues of censorship. Their premiere productions of Osborne's A Patriot for Me and Saved by Edward Bond (both 1965) necessitated the theatre turning itself into a "private members club" to circumvent the Lord Chamberlain, formally responsible for the licensing of plays until the Theatres Act 1968. The succès de scandale of the two plays helped to bring about the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK.[citation needed] During the period of Devine's directorship, besides Osborne and Bond, the Royal Court premiered works by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Ann Jellicoe and N.F. Simpson. Subsequent Artistic Directors of the Royal Court premiered work by Christopher Hampton, Athol Fugard, Howard Brenton, Caryl Churchill, Hanif Kureishi, Sarah Daniels, Errol John, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Sylvia Wynter, Mark Ravenhill, Martin McDonagh, Simon Stephens, Leo Butler, Polly Stenham and Nick Payne. Early seasons included new international plays by Bertolt Brecht, Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Marguerite Duras. In addition to the 400-seat proscenium arch Theatre Downstairs, the much smaller studio Theatre Upstairs was opened in 1969, at the time a 63-seat facility.[2][15] The Rocky Horror Show premiered there in 1973. The theatre was Grade II listed in June 1972.[16]

 
The Royal Court Theatre at dusk in 2007

Though the main auditorium and the façade were attractive, the remainder of the building provided poor facilities for both audience and performers, and throughout the 20th century the stalls and understage often flooded. By the early 1990s the building had deteriorated dangerously, and the theatre was threatened with closure in 1995. The Royal Court received a grant of £16.2 million from the National Lottery and the Arts Council for redevelopment, and beginning in 1996, under the artistic directorship of Stephen Daldry, it was completely rebuilt, except for the façade and the intimate auditorium. The architects for this were Haworth Tompkins. The theatre reopened in February 2000, with the 380-seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, and the 85-seat studio theatre, now the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. Since 1994, a new generation of playwrights debuting at the theatre has included Joe Penhall, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, and Roy Williams, among others.[citation needed] Since the 1990s the Royal Court has placed an emphasis on the development and production of international plays. By 1993, the British Council had begun its support of the International Residency programme (which started in 1989 as the Royal Court International Summer School), and more recently the Genesis Foundation has also supported the production of international plays. The theatre received a 1999 International Theatre Institute award.[17] In May 2008, the English Stage Company presented The Ugly One by Marius von Mayenburg at the "Contact International Theatre Festival" in Poland.[18]

Artistic Directors have included Ian Rickson (1998–2006), Max Stafford-Clark, Stuart Burge, Robert Kidd, Nicholas Wright, Lindsay Anderson, Anthony Page, and William Gaskill.[19] From 2007 to 2012, the theatre's Artistic Director was Dominic Cooke and the deputy artistic director was Jeremy Herrin. Vicky Featherstone, the first female artistic director, previously founding head of the National Theatre of Scotland, replaced Cooke as Artistic Director in April 2013.[20][21]

Antisemitism controversies

In 1987, Ken Loach's production of Perdition at the Royal Court Theatre was abandoned after protests and commissioned reviews from two historians, Martin Gilbert and David Cesarani.[22][23] Oxford historian Gilbert said the play was "a travesty of the facts" and "deeply antisemitic".[23][24] Loach and the play's author, Jim Allen, denied the accusations and accused the "Zionist lobby" and "the Zionist machine" of stirring up controversy unfairly.[23][25]

Caryl Churchill's play Seven Jewish Children played at the theatre in 2009. Many Jewish leaders and journalists criticised the play as antisemitic.[26][27][28][29] One called it "a libellous and despicable demonisation of Israeli parents and grandparents" and a modern blood libel drawing on old antisemitic myths.[26] Michael Billington in The Guardian described the play as "a heartfelt lamentation for the future generations"[30] and contended that the play, though controversial, is not antisemitic.[31] Another Guardian writer viewed Seven Jewish Children as historically inaccurate and harshly critical of Jews.[32] The Royal Court denied the accusations, saying: "In keeping with its philosophy, the Royal Court Theatre presents a multiplicity of viewpoints."[33]

In 2021, the theatre produced Al Smith's play Rare Earth Mettle, which addresses environmental and social "damage inflicted by powerful tech industries", and features a rapacious, ultra-wealthy villain reportedly based on Elon Musk; although Musk is not Jewish, the name of the supervillain was the Jewish-sounding "Hershel Fink."[34][35][36] The Royal Court Theatre first apologized for "unconscious bias" in choosing "an antisemitic name", then, after the "unconscious bias" claim was criticized, it issued an "unreserved apology."[37] The name "Hershel Fink" was used despite concerns having been raised with director Hamish Pirie earlier in the production process, and despite the theatre's association with the anti-racism organization Sour Lemons, which is intended to identify and dismantle systemic racism in its productions.[37] The character's name was eventual changed to "Henry Finn".[38]

Europe Theatre Prize

In 1999, the theatre was awarded the V Europe Prize Theatrical Realities.[39] The prize organization stated:

[T]he Royal Court Theatre ... has done more than any other institution to promote new writing. Since 1956 it has premiered the work of many of the best-known British dramatists: Osborne, Wesker, Pinter, Bond, Barker, Brenton, Hare and Churchill. But this Award is given not so much for the Court's distinguished history as for its championship ... of [a] new generation of challenging, often profoundly disturbing, writers ... like Sarah Kane (Blasted and Cleansed), Mark Ravenhill (Shopping and Fucking) and Jez Butterworth (Mojo) who graphically express their horror at the moral emptiness and crude materialism of the world they have inherited. Their plays are filled with images of violence, but behind the violence lies an anger and confusion at the difficulty of existing in a post-Marxist, post-Christian, post-Utopian society. ... Under the direction first of Stephen Daldry and now of Ian Rickson, it has staged coproductions with companies such as Out of Joint and Théâtre de Complicité (including a sensational revival of Ionesco's The Chairs). It has presented outstanding plays by young Irish writers such as Conor McPherson and Martin McDonagh. It ... has given voice to a new generation of young writers whose moral anger, urban despair and political disillusion have sent shockwaves throughout the whole of Europe.[40]

Notable productions since the 1950s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

References

Notes

  1. ^ During mid-1870, it was briefly called the "Belgravia" Theatre, but all of W. S. Gilbert's pieces presented at the theatre, beginning in 1871, were publicised as playing at the "Court Theatre".
  2. ^ Despite Heilpern's claim, Duncan seems to have recognised the qualities of Look Back in Anger.[13]

Citations

  1. ^ Ainger 2002, p. 168
  2. ^ a b c Social history: Social and cultural activities, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 12: Chelsea (2004), pp. 166–76. Date accessed: 22 March 2007.
  3. ^ a b Knight, Joseph, rev. Nilanjana Banerji. "Cecil, Arthur (1843–1896)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 7 October 2008, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4974
  4. ^ Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres
  5. ^ Howard, Deborah (1970). London Theatres and Music Halls 1850–1950. London: The Library Association. p. 54. OCLC 883157080.
  6. ^ "New Court Theatre". The Times. 25 September 1888. p. 9.
  7. ^ "The Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London: The New Court Theatre", ArthurLloyd.co.uk, accessed 19 December 2017
  8. ^ Mackintosh, Iain; Sell, Michael (1982). Curtains!!!; or, A new life for old theatres. Eastbourne: John Offord. p. 155. See Plate 15.
  9. ^ Benedick, Adam (31 March 1997). "Obituary: Oscar Lewenstein". The Independent. from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ^ Roberts, Philip (1999). The Royal Court Theatre and the Modern Stage. Cambridge University Library. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-521-47962-2.
  11. ^ History, Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 21 April 2022
  12. ^ a b Heilpern, John. John Osborne: A Patriot for Us, London: Vintage, 2007 [2006], p.216; "'It's me, isn't it?'", The Guardian, 6 March 2007 (extract)
  13. ^ Zarhy-Levo, Yael (2008). The Making of Theatrical Reputations: Studies from the Modern London Theatre. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. p. 31. ISBN 9781587297793.
  14. ^ Murphy, Robert. "Lewenstein, (Silvion) Oscar (1917–1997)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  15. ^ 63 seat Theatre Upstairs
  16. ^ accessed 28 April 2007
  17. ^ International Department, Royal Court Theatre
  18. ^ Contact International Theatre Festival 2008 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine accessed 24 May 2008
  19. ^ "Artistic Directors" since 1956, Royal Court Theatre website
  20. ^ "Royal Court names Vicky Featherstone as Cooke successor". BBC News. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  21. ^ Dickson, Andrew (11 May 2012). "Royal Court hires Vicky Featherstone as first female artistic director". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  22. ^ Abramson, Glenda (1998). Drama and ideology in modern Israel. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-44159-5. OCLC 37721290.
  23. ^ a b c Joffee, Linda (23 February 1987). "A play no theater will play". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  24. ^ Reuters (22 January 1987). "London Theater Drops Disputed Play". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 November 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  25. ^ Rich, Dave (2016). The Left's Jewish problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and anti-Semitism. London. ISBN 978-1-78590-151-5. OCLC 968510101.
  26. ^ a b Symons, Leon. "Outrage over 'demonising' play for Gaza," The Jewish Chronicle, 12 February 2009
  27. ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey. "The Royal Court Theatre's Blood Libel", Atlantic Monthly 9 February 2009
  28. ^ Healy, Patrick. "Workshop May Present Play Critical of Israel", New York Times, 17 February 2009
  29. ^ "The Stone and Seven Jewish Children", The Sunday Times, 15 February 2009
  30. ^ Billington, Michael (11 February 2009). "Theatre: Seven Jewish Children". The Guardian.
  31. ^ Higgins, Charlotte (18 February 2009). "Is Seven Jewish Children anti-semitic?". The Guardian.
  32. ^ Romain, Jonathan (20 February 2009). "Selective bravery is not very brave". The Guardian. ...the same standards must apply to all faiths
  33. ^ Beckford, Martin (19 February 2009). "Prominent Jews accuse Royal Court play of demonising Israelis". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  34. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (6 November 2021). "Antisemitism row forces Royal Court theatre to change name of character". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  35. ^ Sawer, Patrick (6 November 2021). "Royal Court theatre changes billionaire character's Jewish name after anti-Semitism accusations". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  36. ^ "UK theater changes name of moneyman character in play after antisemitism outcry". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  37. ^ a b Maltby, Kate. "The inside story of the Royal Court Theatre's antisemitism". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  38. ^ Malvern, Jack (8 November 2021). "The Royal Court Theatre renames Jewish character after complaint". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  39. ^ "VII Edizione". Premio Europa per il Teatro (in Italian). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  40. ^ "Europe Theatre Prize: VII Edition – Reasons". archivio.premioeuropa.org. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  41. ^ a b c d e Wiegand, Chris (24 March 2016). "The Royal Court at 60: look back in wonder". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  42. ^ The play was later adapted as a film. Steiner, Richard. "The Knack ...and How to Get It". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  43. ^ The play was later adapted as a film. Sinyard, Neil. The Films of Nicolas Roeg, Charles Letts & Co. (1991 ), p. 97

Bibliography

  • Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514769-3.
  • Bergan, Ronald (1992). The Great Theatres of London: An Illustrated Companion. London: Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 1-85375-057-3.
  • Earl, John; Sell, Michael (2000). Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950. Theatres Trust. pp. 135–36. ISBN 0-7136-5688-3.
  • MacCarthy, Desmond (1907). The Court Theatre 1904–1907 A Commentary and Criticism. London: A. H. Bullen.
  • Roberts, Philip (1999). The Royal Court Theatre and the modern stage. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47962-2.
  • History of the theatre
  • Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres
  • Napoleon, Davi (1991). Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater. Iowa State University Press. ISBN 0-8138-1713-7. (Includes a detailed comparison of the Royal Court and a theater in New York City that was influenced by it; also includes discussion of Royal Court plays that the Chelsea presented, including Saved, Total Eclipse, and The Contractor)

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Court Theatre, London.

April 17, 2023
royal, court, theatre, theatre, liverpool, liverpool, different, times, known, court, theatre, chelsea, theatre, belgravia, theatre, commercial, west, theatre, sloane, square, royal, borough, kensington, chelsea, london, england, 1956, acquired, remains, home,. For the theatre in Liverpool see Royal Court Theatre Liverpool The Royal Court Theatre at different times known as the Court Theatre the New Chelsea Theatre and the Belgravia Theatre is a non commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea London England In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999 Royal Court Theatre1870 New Chelsea TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre in 2020AddressSloane SquareLondon SW1United KingdomCoordinates51 29 33 N 0 09 24 W 51 492583 N 0 156583 W 51 492583 0 156583 Coordinates 51 29 33 N 0 09 24 W 51 492583 N 0 156583 W 51 492583 0 156583Public transitSloane SquareOwnerEnglish Stage CompanyDesignationGrade II listedTypeNon commercial theatreCapacityTheatre Downstairs 380Theatre Upstairs 85ConstructionOpened1870 153 years ago 1870 Rebuilt1888 Walter Emden amp Bertie Crewe 2000 Haworth Tompkins Websiteroyalcourttheatre wbr com Contents 1 History 1 1 The first theatre 1 2 The current theatre 1888 1952 1 3 The English Stage Company 1 4 Antisemitism controversies 1 5 Europe Theatre Prize 2 Notable productions since the 1950s 2 1 1950s 2 2 1960s 2 3 1970s 2 4 1980s 2 5 1990s 2 6 2000s 2 7 2010s 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 Citations 4 Bibliography 5 External linksHistory EditThe first theatre Edit The first theatre on Lower George Street off Sloane Square was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre Marie Litton became its manager in 1871 hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior and it was renamed the Court Theatre a Scene from The Happy Land showing the scandalous impersonation of Gladstone Lowe and Ayrton 1873 Several of W S Gilbert s early plays were staged here including Randall s Thumb Creatures of Impulse with music by Alberto Randegger Great Expectations adapted from the Dickens novel and On Guard all in 1871 The Happy Land 1873 with Gilbert Abbott a Beckett Gilbert s most controversial play The Wedding March translated from Un Chapeau de Paille d Italie by Eugene Marin Labiche 1873 The Blue Legged Lady translated from La Dame aux Jambes d Azur by Labiche and Marc Michel 1874 and Broken Hearts 1875 By 1878 management of the theatre was shared by John Hare and W H Kendal 1 Further alterations were made in 1882 by Alexander Peebles after which its capacity was 728 including stalls and boxes dress circle and balcony amphitheatre and gallery 2 After that Arthur Cecil who had joined the theatre s company in 1881 was co manager of the theatre with John Clayton 3 Among other works they produced a series of Arthur Wing Pinero s farces including The Rector The Magistrate 1885 The Schoolmistress 1886 and Dandy Dick 1887 among others 4 The theatre closed on 22 July 1887 and was demolished 5 The current theatre 1888 1952 Edit The present building was built on the east side of Sloane Square replacing the earlier building and opened on 24 September 1888 as the New Court Theatre Designed by Walter Emden and Bertie Crewe it is constructed of fine red brick moulded brick and a stone facade in free Italianate style Originally the theatre had a capacity of 841 in the stalls dress circle amphitheatre and a gallery Cecil and Clayton yielded management of the theatre to Mrs John Wood and Arthur Chudleigh in 1887 although Cecil continued acting in their company and others until 1895 3 The first production in the new building was a play by Sydney Grundy titled Mamma starring Mrs John Wood and John Hare with Arthur Cecil and Eric Lewis 6 By the end of the century the theatre was again called the Royal Court Theatre 7 Harley Granville Barker managed the theatre for the first few years of the 20th century and George Bernard Shaw s plays were produced at the New Court for a period It ceased to be used as a theatre in 1932 but was used as a cinema from 1935 to 1940 until World War II bomb damage closed it 2 The English Stage Company Edit After the war the interior was reconstructed as a stage theatre by Robert Cromie and the number of seats was reduced to under 500 The theatre re opened in 1952 8 with Oscar Lewenstein as the general manager In 1954 Lewenstein together with George Devine Ronald Duncan and Greville Poke founded the English Stage Company ESC with a mission to present plays by young and experimental dramatists and the best contemporary plays from abroad 9 Devine served as the first artistic director of the ESC while Poke was its Honorary Secretary 10 The ESC purchased the Royal Court in 1956 and began to produce adventurous new and foreign works together with some classical revivals 11 The new company s third production in 1956 John Osborne s Look Back in Anger was a play by one of the Angry Young Men The director was Tony Richardson Osborne followed Look Back in Anger with The Entertainer starring Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice a play the actor effectively commissioned from the playwright The artistic board of the ESC initially rejected the play although they soon reversed that decision Two members of the board opposed The Entertainer Duncan disliked Osborne s work according to the biographer John Heilpern 12 b while Lewenstein a former Communist 14 did not want one of the theatre s new plays to be overwhelmed by its star and did not think much of the play 12 In the mid 1960s the ESC became involved in issues of censorship Their premiere productions of Osborne s A Patriot for Me and Saved by Edward Bond both 1965 necessitated the theatre turning itself into a private members club to circumvent the Lord Chamberlain formally responsible for the licensing of plays until the Theatres Act 1968 The succes de scandale of the two plays helped to bring about the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK citation needed During the period of Devine s directorship besides Osborne and Bond the Royal Court premiered works by Arnold Wesker John Arden Ann Jellicoe and N F Simpson Subsequent Artistic Directors of the Royal Court premiered work by Christopher Hampton Athol Fugard Howard Brenton Caryl Churchill Hanif Kureishi Sarah Daniels Errol John Timberlake Wertenbaker Martin Crimp Sarah Kane Sylvia Wynter Mark Ravenhill Martin McDonagh Simon Stephens Leo Butler Polly Stenham and Nick Payne Early seasons included new international plays by Bertolt Brecht Eugene Ionesco Samuel Beckett Jean Paul Sartre and Marguerite Duras In addition to the 400 seat proscenium arch Theatre Downstairs the much smaller studio Theatre Upstairs was opened in 1969 at the time a 63 seat facility 2 15 The Rocky Horror Show premiered there in 1973 The theatre was Grade II listed in June 1972 16 The Royal Court Theatre at dusk in 2007 Though the main auditorium and the facade were attractive the remainder of the building provided poor facilities for both audience and performers and throughout the 20th century the stalls and understage often flooded By the early 1990s the building had deteriorated dangerously and the theatre was threatened with closure in 1995 The Royal Court received a grant of 16 2 million from the National Lottery and the Arts Council for redevelopment and beginning in 1996 under the artistic directorship of Stephen Daldry it was completely rebuilt except for the facade and the intimate auditorium The architects for this were Haworth Tompkins The theatre reopened in February 2000 with the 380 seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and the 85 seat studio theatre now the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs Since 1994 a new generation of playwrights debuting at the theatre has included Joe Penhall Sarah Kane Mark Ravenhill and Roy Williams among others citation needed Since the 1990s the Royal Court has placed an emphasis on the development and production of international plays By 1993 the British Council had begun its support of the International Residency programme which started in 1989 as the Royal Court International Summer School and more recently the Genesis Foundation has also supported the production of international plays The theatre received a 1999 International Theatre Institute award 17 In May 2008 the English Stage Company presented The Ugly One by Marius von Mayenburg at the Contact International Theatre Festival in Poland 18 Artistic Directors have included Ian Rickson 1998 2006 Max Stafford Clark Stuart Burge Robert Kidd Nicholas Wright Lindsay Anderson Anthony Page and William Gaskill 19 From 2007 to 2012 the theatre s Artistic Director was Dominic Cooke and the deputy artistic director was Jeremy Herrin Vicky Featherstone the first female artistic director previously founding head of the National Theatre of Scotland replaced Cooke as Artistic Director in April 2013 20 21 Antisemitism controversies Edit In 1987 Ken Loach s production of Perdition at the Royal Court Theatre was abandoned after protests and commissioned reviews from two historians Martin Gilbert and David Cesarani 22 23 Oxford historian Gilbert said the play was a travesty of the facts and deeply antisemitic 23 24 Loach and the play s author Jim Allen denied the accusations and accused the Zionist lobby and the Zionist machine of stirring up controversy unfairly 23 25 Caryl Churchill s play Seven Jewish Children played at the theatre in 2009 Many Jewish leaders and journalists criticised the play as antisemitic 26 27 28 29 One called it a libellous and despicable demonisation of Israeli parents and grandparents and a modern blood libel drawing on old antisemitic myths 26 Michael Billington in The Guardian described the play as a heartfelt lamentation for the future generations 30 and contended that the play though controversial is not antisemitic 31 Another Guardian writer viewed Seven Jewish Children as historically inaccurate and harshly critical of Jews 32 The Royal Court denied the accusations saying In keeping with its philosophy the Royal Court Theatre presents a multiplicity of viewpoints 33 In 2021 the theatre produced Al Smith s play Rare Earth Mettle which addresses environmental and social damage inflicted by powerful tech industries and features a rapacious ultra wealthy villain reportedly based on Elon Musk although Musk is not Jewish the name of the supervillain was the Jewish sounding Hershel Fink 34 35 36 The Royal Court Theatre first apologized for unconscious bias in choosing an antisemitic name then after the unconscious bias claim was criticized it issued an unreserved apology 37 The name Hershel Fink was used despite concerns having been raised with director Hamish Pirie earlier in the production process and despite the theatre s association with the anti racism organization Sour Lemons which is intended to identify and dismantle systemic racism in its productions 37 The character s name was eventual changed to Henry Finn 38 Europe Theatre Prize Edit In 1999 the theatre was awarded the V Europe Prize Theatrical Realities 39 The prize organization stated T he Royal Court Theatre has done more than any other institution to promote new writing Since 1956 it has premiered the work of many of the best known British dramatists Osborne Wesker Pinter Bond Barker Brenton Hare and Churchill But this Award is given not so much for the Court s distinguished history as for its championship of a new generation of challenging often profoundly disturbing writers like Sarah Kane Blasted and Cleansed Mark Ravenhill Shopping and Fucking and Jez Butterworth Mojo who graphically express their horror at the moral emptiness and crude materialism of the world they have inherited Their plays are filled with images of violence but behind the violence lies an anger and confusion at the difficulty of existing in a post Marxist post Christian post Utopian society Under the direction first of Stephen Daldry and now of Ian Rickson it has staged coproductions with companies such as Out of Joint and Theatre de Complicite including a sensational revival of Ionesco s The Chairs It has presented outstanding plays by young Irish writers such as Conor McPherson and Martin McDonagh It has given voice to a new generation of young writers whose moral anger urban despair and political disillusion have sent shockwaves throughout the whole of Europe 40 Notable productions since the 1950s Edit1950s Edit Look Back in Anger by John Osborne directed by Tony Richardson music for songs by Tom Eastwood starring Kenneth Haigh 1956 41 The Entertainer by John Osborne directed by Tony Richardson starring Laurence Olivier 1957 1960s Edit The Knack by Ann Jellicoe 1962 41 42 Exit the King by Eugene Ionesco directed by George Devine starring Alec Guinness 1963 A Patriot for Me by John Osborne 1965 Saved by Edward Bond directed by William Gaskill 1965 1970s Edit Owners by Caryl Churchill 1972 The Rocky Horror Show with music lyrics and book by Richard O Brien directed by Jim Sharman 1973 Not I by Samuel Beckett 1973 Class Enemy by Nigel Williams 1978 41 Bent by Martin Sherman 1979 1980s Edit The Arbor by Andrea Dunbar directed by Max Stafford Clark 1980 41 Insignificance by Terry Johnson 1982 43 Top Girls by Caryl Churchill 1982 Road by Jim Cartwright 1986 Our Country s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker 1988 1990s Edit Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman directed by Lindsay Posner starring Juliet Stevenson 1991 Hysteria by Terry Johnson directed by Phyllida Lloyd 1993 41 My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot directed by Roger Michell 1994 Blasted by Sarah Kane directed by James Macdonald 1995 Mojo by Jez Butterworth directed by Ian Rickson 1995 Shopping and Fucking by Mark Ravenhill directed by Max Stafford Clark 1996 The Weir by Conor McPherson 1997 Cleansed by Sarah Kane directed by James Macdonald 1998 2000s Edit Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson directed by Ian Rickson starring Brian Cox 2000 4 48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane directed by James Macdonald 2000 Crave by Sarah Kane directed by Vicky Featherstone 2001 The Sugar Syndrome by Lucy Prebble directed by Marianne Elliott 2003 Drunk Enough to Say I Love You by Caryl Churchill directed by James Macdonald 2006 The Seagull by Anton Chekhov in a new version by Christopher Hampton directed by Ian Rickson starring Kristin Scott Thomas Mackenzie Crook and Chiwetel Ejiofor 2007 That Face by Polly Stenham directed by Jeremy Herrin starring Felicity Jones Matt Smith Julian Wadham and Lindsay Duncan 2007 Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth directed by Ian Rickson starring Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook 2009 Seven Jewish Children by Caryl Churchill directed by Dominic Cooke starring Ben Caplan David Horovitch Daisy Lewis Ruth Posner Samuel Roukin Susannah Wise and Alexis Zegerman 2009 2010s Edit Posh by Laura Wade starring Simon Sheperd Joshua McGuire Daniel Ryan Richard Goulding Kit Harington Harry Hadden Paton Leo Bill David Dawson James Norton Henry Lloyd Hughes Tom Mison Fiona Button and Charlotte Lucas 2010 Spur of the Moment by Anya Reiss directed by Jeremy Herrin 2010 Hangmen by Martin McDonagh directed by Matthew Dunster starring Johnny Flynn and David Morrissey 2015 The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth directed by Sam Mendes starring Paddy Considine Laura Donnelly Genevieve O Reilly Brid Brennan Fra Fee Stuart Graham Gerard Horan Conor MacNeill Dearbhla Molloy Tom Glynn Carney and Niall Wright 2017 References EditNotes Edit During mid 1870 it was briefly called the Belgravia Theatre but all of W S Gilbert s pieces presented at the theatre beginning in 1871 were publicised as playing at the Court Theatre Despite Heilpern s claim Duncan seems to have recognised the qualities of Look Back in Anger 13 Citations Edit Ainger 2002 p 168 a b c Social history Social and cultural activities A History of the County of Middlesex Volume 12 Chelsea 2004 pp 166 76 Date accessed 22 March 2007 a b Knight Joseph rev Nilanjana Banerji Cecil Arthur 1843 1896 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 accessed 7 October 2008 doi 10 1093 ref odnb 4974 Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres Howard Deborah 1970 London Theatres and Music Halls 1850 1950 London The Library Association p 54 OCLC 883157080 New Court Theatre The Times 25 September 1888 p 9 The Royal Court Theatre Sloane Square London The New Court Theatre ArthurLloyd co uk accessed 19 December 2017 Mackintosh Iain Sell Michael 1982 Curtains or A new life for old theatres Eastbourne John Offord p 155 See Plate 15 Benedick Adam 31 March 1997 Obituary Oscar Lewenstein The Independent Archived from the original on 15 December 2013 Retrieved 20 April 2022 Roberts Philip 1999 The Royal Court Theatre and the Modern Stage Cambridge University Library pp 20 21 ISBN 0 521 47962 2 History Royal Court Theatre Retrieved 21 April 2022 a b Heilpern John John Osborne A Patriot for Us London Vintage 2007 2006 p 216 It s me isn t it The Guardian 6 March 2007 extract Zarhy Levo Yael 2008 The Making of Theatrical Reputations Studies from the Modern London Theatre Iowa City University of Iowa Press p 31 ISBN 9781587297793 Murphy Robert Lewenstein Silvion Oscar 1917 1997 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 63 seat Theatre Upstairs English Heritage listing details accessed 28 April 2007 International Department Royal Court Theatre Contact International Theatre Festival 2008 Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine accessed 24 May 2008 Artistic Directors since 1956 Royal Court Theatre website Royal Court names Vicky Featherstone as Cooke successor BBC News 11 May 2012 Retrieved 12 May 2012 Dickson Andrew 11 May 2012 Royal Court hires Vicky Featherstone as first female artistic director The Guardian Retrieved 17 July 2021 Abramson Glenda 1998 Drama and ideology in modern Israel New York Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 44159 5 OCLC 37721290 a b c Joffee Linda 23 February 1987 A play no theater will play Christian Science Monitor ISSN 0882 7729 Retrieved 7 November 2021 Reuters 22 January 1987 London Theater Drops Disputed Play The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 7 November 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last has generic name help Rich Dave 2016 The Left s Jewish problem Jeremy Corbyn Israel and anti Semitism London ISBN 978 1 78590 151 5 OCLC 968510101 a b Symons Leon Outrage over demonising play for Gaza The Jewish Chronicle 12 February 2009 Goldberg Jeffrey The Royal Court Theatre s Blood Libel Atlantic Monthly 9 February 2009 Healy Patrick Workshop May Present Play Critical of Israel New York Times 17 February 2009 The Stone and Seven Jewish Children The Sunday Times 15 February 2009 Billington Michael 11 February 2009 Theatre Seven Jewish Children The Guardian Higgins Charlotte 18 February 2009 Is Seven Jewish Children anti semitic The Guardian Romain Jonathan 20 February 2009 Selective bravery is not very brave The Guardian the same standards must apply to all faiths Beckford Martin 19 February 2009 Prominent Jews accuse Royal Court play of demonising Israelis The Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Thorpe Vanessa 6 November 2021 Antisemitism row forces Royal Court theatre to change name of character the Guardian Retrieved 7 November 2021 Sawer Patrick 6 November 2021 Royal Court theatre changes billionaire character s Jewish name after anti Semitism accusations The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 7 November 2021 UK theater changes name of moneyman character in play after antisemitism outcry www timesofisrael com Retrieved 7 November 2021 a b Maltby Kate The inside story of the Royal Court Theatre s antisemitism The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 22 November 2021 Malvern Jack 8 November 2021 The Royal Court Theatre renames Jewish character after complaint The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 10 November 2021 VII Edizione Premio Europa per il Teatro in Italian Retrieved 23 December 2022 Europe Theatre Prize VII Edition Reasons archivio premioeuropa org Retrieved 23 December 2022 a b c d e Wiegand Chris 24 March 2016 The Royal Court at 60 look back in wonder The Guardian Retrieved 9 November 2019 The play was later adapted as a film Steiner Richard The Knack and How to Get It Turner Classic Movies Retrieved 7 June 2017 The play was later adapted as a film Sinyard Neil The Films of Nicolas Roeg Charles Letts amp Co 1991 p 97Bibliography EditAinger Michael 2002 Gilbert and Sullivan A Dual Biography Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 514769 3 Bergan Ronald 1992 The Great Theatres of London An Illustrated Companion London Trafalgar Square Publishing ISBN 1 85375 057 3 Earl John Sell Michael 2000 Guide to British Theatres 1750 1950 Theatres Trust pp 135 36 ISBN 0 7136 5688 3 MacCarthy Desmond 1907 The Court Theatre 1904 1907 A Commentary and Criticism London A H Bullen Roberts Philip 1999 The Royal Court Theatre and the modern stage Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 47962 2 History of the theatre Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres Napoleon Davi 1991 Chelsea on the Edge The Adventures of an American Theater Iowa State University Press ISBN 0 8138 1713 7 Includes a detailed comparison of the Royal Court and a theater in New York City that was influenced by it also includes discussion of Royal Court plays that the Chelsea presented including Saved Total Eclipse and The Contractor External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Court Theatre London Official website English Stage Company Royal Court Theatre Archive at the Victoria amp Albert Museum English Stage Company Correspondence Collection at the Harry Ransom Center The Guardian 21 July 2009 The Royal Court Upstairs marks 40 years of scaling new heights Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Royal Court Theatre amp oldid 1150051782, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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