THE RED THEATRE COMPANY - A NEW VENTURE, A YEAR ON

The Red Theatre Company is based in Fleet, Hampshire, although we are made up of actors from all over the area! We are a new company, started up in July 2003 and so this is a very exciting period for us. We have one extremely successful production behind us and we are about to perform our second play at the beginning of December.

The group was set up after the company manager decided it was about time that a local theatre company put on a play that was "a bit more up to date and exciting than the usual amdram farces"! It was also very important that ticket prices were affordable and the productions therefore accessible. It came as somewhat a pleasant surprise that in fact countless others shared this opinion and were only too keen to get involved with something new and 'a bit different'.

Summer 2003 was spent trying to get a cast and crew together and finding a rehearsal venue (luckily the company manager is a Drama teacher at a local school). Being a small company without an established committee or production team, many of the mundane jobs had to be completed by a pool of about.2 people! Designing and printing posters, making the tickets by hand, sourcing and ordering obscure props (the most challenging of which being a severed ear!) buying interval refreshments, writing press releases and recording the sound effects. If anything, it was a great way of finding out exactly what goes on behind the scenes!! The willingness and enthusiasm of people was fantastic and thankfully there were many people who volunteered to help out in every which way during performance week - operating sound, selling tickets and pouring the interval drinks! 

In December 2003 we staged our terrifically successful production of Ben Elton's 'Popcorn' at the Drama Studio, Court Moor School in Fleet. The performances sold out to the extent that we had audience members paying to stand at the back, and the overwhelming opinion was that we should build on this success and "do it again". Financially we made a small profit which was by no means our aim but it was certainly welcome, and this meant that we could afford to pay for performing rights for another play. Gluttons for punishment? Maybe.

We are now coming up to November 2004 and we are preparing to perform John Godber's "Bouncers" in December. Our cast of four actors are truly exceptional, and rehearsals have been great fun. This play is a must see for anyone interested in theatre, and it has the added bonus of being incredibly entertaining even to those who are not seasoned theatre-goers. It's a recognisable slice of British nightlife, and tragically hilarious because of this.

So over a year on, things are going well. The company aim is to produce fresh entertainment for audiences at affordable prices. We aim to encourage people of a wide age-range who are not necessarily theatre 'regulars' to enjoy live drama, and the wide range of audience members who attended 'Popcorn' seems to suggest this philosophy is working. Let's hope we can repeat this success for 'Bouncers'.

Tickets are all only £6 and are available by calling 01252 642286 / 07740 856989 (please mention where you heard about us) by email or check out our website. 

As with any up and coming drama group we are on the look out for actors, crew helpers and of course.audience members, we need YOU!