A brief history of The Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre is situated on Sloane Square London. The theatre was acquired in 1956 by the English stage company. George Devine artistic director produced new British and foreign plays. It was his aim to create a writers theatre seeking to discover new writers and produce serious contemporary work. He produced John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in 1956, the first play identified as being by one of the angry young men. A phrase originally coined by The Royal Court Theatre press officer to publicise John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and then applied to other young British playwrights and novelist of the time. In 1965 Osborne’s A Patriot for Me and Edwards Bond's Saved both had issues of censorship, which was still enforce by the Lord Chamberlain office. This necessitated the theatre turning its self into a private members club so the productions could be staged. In 1968 theatre censorship was ended.

Roots by Arnold Wesker, The Knack by Ann Jellicoe, Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman

Ariel Dorfman

 

Other noted production under Devine's directorship, besides Osbourne and Bond, are works by Roots by Arnold Wesker, Sergeants Musgrave's Dance by John Arden, The knack by Ann Jellicoe and A Resounding Tinkle and One way Pendulum by Nf Simpson. Subsequent artistic director of the royal court premiered work by Christopher Hampton, The Island by Athol Fugard, Howard Brenton, The Girls and Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill, Hanif Kureishi, Sarah Danniels, Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertbaker, Attempts on her life by Martin Crimp, Blasted by Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Martin Conagh, MotorTown by Simond Stephens and Leo Butler. Early season included new international plays by Bertolt Brecht, Eugene Ionesco, Endgames by Samuel Becket, Jean Paul Sartre, and Marguerite Duras. In addition to the 400 seat proscenium arch Theatre Downstairs, the studio theatre up stairs was opened in 1969 at the time 63 seats facility. The Rocky Horror Show premiered in 1973.

The Jerwood Theatre upstairs

By 1995 the theatre was threatened with closure due to the deterioration of the building and was save by an arts council and national lottery grant, opening in 2000 under the artistic directorship of Stephen Daldry it was completely rebuilt, except for the facade and the intimate auditorium. Now named The Jerwood theatre downstairs with 380 seats and a 85 seat studio theatre up stairs.

The Jerwood Theatre down stairs

Over the last decade the royal court has placed a renewed emphasis on the development and productions of international work. From 1993 the british council has begun its support of the international residency programme ( which started in 1989 as the royal court international summer school) and by early 1996 a department solely dedicated to international work had been created. A creative dialogue now exists between innovative theatre writers and practitioners in many different countries including Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, Romania, Russia, Spain, Syria and Uganda. Many of these projects are supported by the British Council and more recently by the Genesis Foundation, who also support the production of international plays. The international Department has been the recipient of a number of awards including the 1999 International Theatre Institute awards.