Royal Exchange Theatre

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. In 1968 the 69 Theatre Company, an offshoot of the 59 Theatre Company which had successfully played for a season at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, took possession of the university theatre in Manchester and achieved a great success, seven of its 21 productions being transferred to London. The company, which included actors, directors, and designers trained under Michel Saint-Denis at the Old Vic Theatre School, was looking for a permanent home and decided to stay in Manchester. In 1972 it leased the Royal Exchange, formerly used for cotton trading, within which a temporary theatre was erected in 1973, followed in 1976 by a permanent one. This theatre is a module enclosed in clear glass and suspended from four of the pillars in the hall of the Exchange. It is a theatre-in-the-round, based on a seven-sided figure, and no seat is more than about 30 ft. from the stage. The ground floor seats 400 and the two balconies 150 each. The auditorium can be converted for thrust-stage productions, and the foyer, one of the largest in the world, consists of the whole of the Royal Exchange hall outside the module. The venture was made possible by grants from two local authorities, the Arts Council, and public subscription. The company, which is a repertory company, retained its high reputation in its new home and attracted a large number of outstanding players, including Albert Finney in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Coward's Present Laughter (both 1977), Vanessa Redgrave in Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea (1978), and Helen Mirren in Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (1980). The last two were transferred to London, as were three plays by Ronald Harwood (1934– ) which had their world premières at Manchester—The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold (1977), based on Evelyn Waugh's novel, with Michael Hordern; A Family (1978) with Paul Scofield; and The Dresser (1980) with Tom Courtenay, also seen in New York, about the relationship between an elderly actor and his dresser. The repertoire combines classics with new work, mostly commissioned. The theatre is also used for talks, concerts, children's shows, and workshops, and the company has its own mobile theatre-in-the-round for touring.

The co-founder and joint Artistic Director of the 69 Theatre Company, and one of the resident artistic directors of the Royal Exchange Theatre Company, was Michael Elliot (1931–84), whose first London stage production was Ibsen's Brand in 1959 for the 59 Theatre Company. He directed the RSC's famous production of As You Like It in 1961–2 with Vanessa Redgrave, and was Artistic Director at the Old Vic, 1962–3. In Manchester he directed such productions as The Tempest (1969), Uncle Vanya, The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, an adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment (1978), and The Dresser. He twice directed Ibsen's Peer Gynt, at the Old Vic in 1962 and in Manchester in 1970.