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Dateline: 9th July, 2007
Haymarket to Become a Producing House Today saw the launch of the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company. The company will be directed by former Almeida head, Jonathan Kent, and potentially offers the West End something new and exciting, by going back to the tried and trusted formula of "a continuity and an aesthetic". The new company will operate as a producing house, which is almost unheard of in a large unsubsidised London theatre nowadays. The only challenger is Kevin Spacey's Old Vic, which has experimented with the concept with mixed results. The Haymarket, as it is commonly known, is one of the largest London theatres to concentrate on straight plays. The theatre has a long and distinguished history, having opened as Little Theatre in the Hay as far back as 1720. It has tended to go for plays featuring big name actors: all of the greats have starred on its stage over a period of almost 300 years. Its grandeur seems absolutely right for a list that includes Colly Cibber, Charles Kemble, Ellen Terry, Gielgud and Richardson and lots of Redgraves. That tradition has continued more recently, often with names preceded by the appellation Dame, though it has also shown a fondness for America's finest such as Lauren Bacall, Jack Lemmon, Charlton Heston and Jessica Lange. It has practically become a residential theatre for (Dames) Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who appeared together in Sir David Hare's The Breath of Life. It is currently showing David Suchet in Roger Crane's papal thriller The Last Confession. The company's co-producer, Arnold Crook, and his Artistic Director, Jonathan Kent proudly announced the new project from the stage, in a reversal that saw a bevy of stars sitting in the audience. The idea is to put on large scale productions, initially with casts of 14-16, for three to six months. Crook is not expecting the first year to do better than break even but believes in the formula and trusts that backers will too. Kent said that while the productions are all designed to present English actors on the Haymarket's stage, he would not be averse to transfers, New York being an obvious home for the more commercial of them. The first season features three contrasting shows and offers an insight into the new company's sense of adventure. First up, opening on 27th September is a revival of The Country Wife by William Wycherley. In Kent's words, this is "a restoration comedy which is actually very funny". It should pack the theatre with its primary topic of sex and a cast led by Fiona Glascott, David Haig, Toby Stephens and Patricia Hodge, all of whom were at the launch. The New Year sees a real contrast in The Sea, a black comedy by Edward Bond, "One of the most important and influential voices in British Theatre" according to Kent but rarely performed today. This 1977 play originally starred Coral Browne and Ian Holm and has been revived once, at the National, with Dame Judi. In 2008, the leads are Dame Eileen Atkins and David Haig. The two revivals are balanced by a new musical Marguerite, based on that infinitely adaptable Dumas favourite La Dame Aux Camellias and now set in WWII Paris. This has been written by the team behind Les Miserables and stars Ruthie Henshall, also on show at the press launch. It runs for six months from 6th May next year and this might be the production that funds the company's future, if, like its predecessor, it can run around the world for decades. The whole theatrical world should welcome this experiment and pray that it succeeds. This could herald a great future for serious work in the West End and provide serious competition for the National and the Old Vic. Philip Fisher
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