Hull Repertory Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
The Hull Repertory Theatre Company was a theatre company in Kingston upon Hull
, East Riding of Yorkshire, England which was in existence from 1924 until superseded by the Hull New Theatre in 1939.
. It used the Lecture Hall, Kingston Square, for dramatic productions, renaming it the Little Theatre. The lecture hall itself was on the site of the former Central Fire Station.
It became a private limited company, the Hull Repertory Theatre Company, in 1928. Also in 1928 a public limited company, the Little Theatre (Hull) Ltd., was formed to buy the hall, which it did in 1930. The two companies were then amalgamated in 1933.
By June 1930 Whatmore had produced eighty-one plays there. During that time the theatre was entirely rebuilt under his supervision.
In 1939 the company acquired the neighbouring Assembly Rooms, which were converted to the Hull New Theatre.
From its inception the company fostered talented young actors, many of who went on to greater fame on the London stage or in film. Examples have been:
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, East Riding of Yorkshire, England which was in existence from 1924 until superseded by the Hull New Theatre in 1939.
History
The theatre was founded in 1923 under the leadership of A. R. WhatmoreA. R. Whatmore
A. R. Whatmore was a British actor, playwright and producer of plays.- Early life :Arthur Reginald Whatmore was born on 30 May 1889 at Much Marcle in Herefordshire, the son of Charles Arthur Whatmore and his wife Emma...
. It used the Lecture Hall, Kingston Square, for dramatic productions, renaming it the Little Theatre. The lecture hall itself was on the site of the former Central Fire Station.
It became a private limited company, the Hull Repertory Theatre Company, in 1928. Also in 1928 a public limited company, the Little Theatre (Hull) Ltd., was formed to buy the hall, which it did in 1930. The two companies were then amalgamated in 1933.
By June 1930 Whatmore had produced eighty-one plays there. During that time the theatre was entirely rebuilt under his supervision.
In 1939 the company acquired the neighbouring Assembly Rooms, which were converted to the Hull New Theatre.
From its inception the company fostered talented young actors, many of who went on to greater fame on the London stage or in film. Examples have been:
- Sebastian ShawSebastian Shaw (actor)Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions....
, 1924 - Roland CulverRoland CulverRoland Culver OBE was a British stage, film, and television actor.-Life and career:...
, debut performance, 1924, as Paul in Peter and Paul - Colin CliveColin CliveColin Clive was an English stage and screen actor best remembered for his portrayal of Dr...
, 1925 - Colette O'Niel, 1925
- Edith SharpeEdith Sharpe-Selected filmography:* The Education of Elizabeth * Music Hath Charms * The Tenth Man * When the Bough Breaks * That Dangerous Age * Landfall * No Place for Jennifer...
, 1927–1928 - Margaretta ScottMargaretta ScottMargaretta Scott was an English stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs...
, August 1928, as Catherine m The Lilies of the Field - Margaret Vines, from September 1928 - June 1929, played juvenile leads in Caste, On Approval, If Four Walls Told, Dear Brutus, Magic, etc.
- André van GyseghemAndre Van GyseghemAndré van Gyseghem was an English actor and theatre director who also appeared in many British television programmes.- Early life :...
, juvenile leads, September 1928 - July 1930, - Alan WheatleyAlan WheatleyAlan Wheatley was a radio announcer who turned to stage and screen acting in the 1930s and was much seen in British films, being a television actor during the black and white era....
, 1929–1930 - Hilary Eaves, debut performance, 1932, in The Admirable CrichtonThe Admirable CrichtonThe Admirable Crichton is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. It was produced by Charles Frohman and opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 4 November 1902, running for an extremely successful 828 performances. It starred H. B. Irving and Irene Vanbrugh...
- Ernest HareErnest HareErnest Dudley Hare was an English stage and film actor.- References :*...
, 1932 - Gerald SavoryGerald SavoryGerald Savory was an English playwright and screenwriter specialising in comedies.The son of actress Grace Lane , he was educated at Bradfield College and worked as a stockbroker's clerk before turning to the stage , first as an actor then a writer.His first work for movies was writing dialogue for...
, 1932–1933 - Michael Mac Owan, producer, 1933–1934
- Cathleen CordellCathleen CordellCathleen Cordell was an American film and television actress.Cordell was born in Brooklyn, New York. Cordell moved to England and then France, in order to begin her childhood education. She died on August 19, 1997, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, she was 82...
, playing juvenile leads, 1934 - Maurice DenhamMaurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
, Hubert in The Marquise, 1934. - Noel HowlettNoel HowlettNoel Howlett was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme Please Sir!...
, producer, 1935 - Jack Minster, producer, 1935–1938
- Stewart GrangerStewart GrangerStewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
, debut, August 1935, as Andrea Strozzi in The CardinalThe Cardinal (play)The Cardinal is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy by James Shirley. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on November 25, 1641, and first published in 1653. Nineteenth-century critics like Edmund Gosse, and twentieth-century critics like Fredson Bowers,...
. He remained at Hull, where he eventually played leading parts, 1935–1936 - Ambrosine PhillpottsAmbrosine Phillpotts-Selected filmography:* This Man Is Mine * The Chiltern Hundreds * The Franchise Affair * Happy Go Lovely * Mr...
, playing leads, 1935–1937
Reference
- Gardiner, Bennitt (1976) "Colette O'Niel: a Season in Repertory", Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 96: Iss. 2, Article 5. An account of the season spent by Lady Constance MallesonLady Constance MallesonThe Lady Constance Malleson was a British writer and actress , the wife of actor Miles Malleson and lover of Bertrand Russell....
(Colette O'Niel) with Hull Little Theatre Company in 1925