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.
