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Dateline: 30th April, 2010
Peter Cheeseman (1932 - 2010) Peter Cheeseman CBE, founding director of the Victoria Theatre, Stoke and the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme, has died aged 78. In the 1960s and 1970s Cheeseman built his reputation and that of the Victoria Theatre through ensemble working, with actors such as Bob Hoskins, Ben Kingsley, Robert Powell, Gerda Stevenson and Ken Campbell. He was responsible for more than 100 productions, including plays which spoke to the people of north Staffordshire. These included Fight For Shelton Bar, about the threatened closure of the steelworks a couple of miles from the theatre. Cheeseman had been part of Stephen Joseph's pioneering Scarborough-based theatre-in-the-round touring company in the 1950s and early '60s. That was where he first met Alan Ayckbourn. When the company decided to put down roots in 1962, Cheeseman took on its leadership at the Victoria Theatre, a converted former cinema in Stoke. Ayckbourn was one of its founding members. Sir Alan said, "Peter was very special. Unusually, he devoted himself to a single place. He gave his life to it. He believed that theatre ought to spring from and reflect the community it belonged to. "He stayed true to that belief and was an inspiration to many of his peers. The Potteries should be grateful for his years of devotion." Film director Mike Leigh was an actor in the Victoria Theatre company during the 1960s. He said, "Working with Peter was a special and creative time. "He was a genius, a vagabond, a facilitator. What he achieved is colossal and he will be remembered with great respect and love." The Victoria Theatre was always meant to be a temporary home for the company and in 1986 Cheeseman achieved a long-held ambition with the opening of the New Vic, Europe's first, purpose-built theatre-in-the-round, only a mile from the original Victoria Theatre. Sir Brian Fender, chair of the New Vic Trustees, recalled, "I never met anyone with such a commitment to the theatre in all its aspects. "With the New Vic he had a life-long triumph, but he also cared deeply about the training of actors and particularly directors, where he was influential nationally. He leaves a rich legacy which we will do our very best to follow." Cheeseman retired in 1998 after 36 years as director of the theatre. Theresa Heskins, current artistic director of the New Vic, said, "Peter's determination to create theatre for and inspired by ordinary people produced a great legacy: one of the most remarkable theatre buildings in the country. "The New Vic's work, both in our in-the-round auditorium and throughout the broader community, will be a lasting tribute to Peter's vision of a theatre that is accessible, inclusive and democratic." Cheeseman was made a CBE in 1998 in recognition of his services to drama. In 2009 he received a Young Vic Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to theatre-making in the UK. A memorial celebration of his life will be held later. Steve Orme
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