| Roses Theatre |
Article Index for Roses |
Limousines in Roses |
Website Links For Roses |
Information AboutRoses Theatre |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ROSES THEATRE | |
| theatres in gloucestershire | |
The Roses Theatre is a Art-house Cinema and Live Performance venue located in the centre of Tewkesbury , Gloucestershire , England . Its main auditorium seats 375 and accommodates 35mm film projection as well as live performance. It offers patrons a wide range of music, theatre, film and dance. HISTORY The Roses Theatre was built in 1974 on the site of the Sabrina Cinema which closed in the mid 1960s. The theatre opened on the 31st October 1975 with a huge amount of publicity by Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne . The theatre has always been owned by Tewkesbury Borough Council but has been run by different management teams including '' Crossroads '' TV actor Stan Stennett and former Director of Coventry's Belgrade Theatre , Robert Hamlin. ERIC MORECAMBE The popular British comedian Eric Morecambe collapsed in Dressing Room 1 at the theatre after taking a final curtain call in May 1984. He died shortly afterwards at Cheltenham General Hospital. The theatre remembers the comic legend by naming the theatres' conference room after him. The Eric Morecambe Room is used by local and national companies for conferences and meetings. The theatre has been featured in TV shows documenting his life and featured photographs of his final performance as well as interviews with Stan Stennett who was a friend of Eric Morecambe. Despite rumours, no video footage is known to exist of Eric Morecambe's final performance. ( From Roger Stennett - June 2007 . No video was ever taken that night. I know. I was there and took a roll of 35mm film of Eric's last performance. The following day, after Eric's death, the theatre was literally besieged by the press, since someone mentioned I had an, as yet, undeveloped film still in my camera. I returned to the theatre that morning, and the telephone never stopped ringing with newspaper offering obscene amounts of money for an exclusive look at the photos. I refused. Eric was a very old friend of my father (Stan Stennett) and the family, and I knew/know his son Gary, so I wasn't about to cause more pain by selling the photographs for personal gain. Eventually one of the tabloid contacted Gary directly and HE rang me, giving his blessing for the photos to be released. Between us we conjured up a plan to benefit The British Heart Foundation. Through The Press Association as an intermediary, I agreed to let all the newspapers have access to my photographs provided they paid a fee to the British Heart Foundation. I was driven down to Bristol with several journalists following, and the photos were developed ( pre-digital days these) at the office of the Press Association before being put 'on the wire' to all the papers that wanted them. Many did, and the shots appeared on most front pages. A sad time,but I am pleased that we were able to share these final performance shots. Incidentally, Eric collapsed in the 'wings' of the theatre ( Stage Left I think ) not in a Dressing Room. I hope this adds a few more 'facts' to the history of the time and the Roses Theatre. EARLY 1990S DECLINE AND CLOSURES Declining audience numbers around 1991 meant that Stan Stennett's lease of the theatre was not renewed by Tewkesbury Borough Council . The last feature film to be shown was Walt Disney's Beauty And The Beast in 1993. A new lease holder, the Crummles Theatre Company, was appointed by the Borough Council in 1993 and oversaw an extensive refurbishment of the theatre. The theatre re-opened in November of that year with a Gala event; performers that evening included Ned Sherrin , Michael Palin and Robert Lindsay . The new leaseholders succeeded in reversing the decline in audience numbers, and attendances for theatre productions, cinema showings, concerts, comedy and cabaret events grew significantly over the succeeding 18 months. However financial problems forced Crummles Theatre Company into liquidation and in May 1995 Roses Theatre closed its doors after 20 years of business. THE RE-OPENING After campaigns on the streets of Tewkesbury and Gloucester and also dedicated media coverage by Gloucestershire Echo, BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central news - the town was not going to let the theatre go without a fight. The Roses Theatre was left closed for one year and was on the verge of being replaced with a car park until The Roses Theatre Trust was formed by a small group of local businessmen in 1995 with one aim in mind - to save the towns theatre and cinema. They succeeded and the new Roses Theatre re-opened in May 1996 for the Half-Term holiday as a trial run. Shortly afterwards the theatre re-opened as a full time venue and has continued to operate ever since. In January 1997 Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne re-visited the theatre that she opened 21 years previously in 1975 to "re-launch" the theatre. The Roses Theatre has improved year on year with audience numbers increasing every year. MOVING FORWARD In September 2006, The Roses Theatre will be installing brand new projection equipment. The theatre will invest in a brand new 35mm film projector, Dolby Digital Surround Sound and a state of the art Digital Projector. This could not be possible without the generous grant The Roses received from the Arts Council but also from donations from audiences. THE ROSES THEATRE PANTOMIME The Roses Theatre was the first theatre in Gloucestershire and the southern West Midlands to host a professional pantomime at Christmas time. Since 1996, The Roses Theatre's annual Pantomime is staged for just over one month between the start of December to mid January. It is written specially for The Roses Theatre by Ian Lauchlan and Will Brenton - the creaters of Childrens BBC's Tweenies and Playdays. Between 1996 and 2006 the Pantomime was Directed by The Roses Theatre's Manager, Robert Hamlin. The 2006/2007 pantomime is Jack and the Beanstalk and runs from December 1st to January 6th. There will be no film screenings during this period as The Roses will be in full Panto-fever during this period with 2 shows everyday. The Roses Theatre does not cast "Celebrities" - they cast professional actors who will not take the limelight from the rest of the cast. The chorus is cast from teenagers who live in Tewkesbury and the surrounding areas (i.e. Bredon, Worcester, Cheltenham, Kidderminster) CROSSROADS STAGE SHOW (1989) In 1989 the Roses Theatre was transformed into the famous Crossroads Motel as part of the soap's 25th Anniversary. Stan Stennett, manager of The Roses Theatre from 1980 to 1993, starred in Crossroads during the 1980s. PICTURES OF THE ROSES THEATRE, TEWKESBURY |
|
|