THE CASTLE THEATRE AND THE REDGRAVE THEATRE, FARNHAM: PRODUCTION RECORDS

The main series of records are summarised below:

9363/1/ THE CASTLE THEATRE: PRODUCTION RECORDS 1939-1974

9363/1/1/ Programmes 1939-1974
The early programmes are undated, except for an indication of the season (2nd, 3rd etc). It has proved impossible to re-create the order of the performances for the first 5 seasons so the programmes have been sorted into season and then alphabetically by play title. For possible running order see 9363/1/2/1 below.

9363/1/2/ Playlists (1939)-[1972]

9363/1/3/ Production photographs 1943-1972
9363/1/3/4-7 were selected from a series of similar files to give an indication of later productions at the Castle Theatre.

9363/1/4/ Publicity (1939)-[1973]

9363/1/5/ Newscuttings 1939-1973

9363/1/6/ Premises [1950s]-1965

9363/2/ THE REDGRAVE THEATRE: PRODUCTION RECORDS 1974-1997

9363/2/1/ Programmes 1974-1997

9363/2/2/ Playlists 1987-1998
For further playlists, 1974-1994, see 8694/7/2/18.

9363/2/3/ Production files, photographs and artwork 1974-1994
For further production files, 1981-1998, see 6894/7/2/4-17.

9363/2/3/1/ 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare 1974

9363/2/3/2/ 'The Lord's Lieutenant' by William Douglas-Home 1974-1975

9363/2/3/3/ 'How the Other Half Loves' by Alan Ayckbourn 1974

9363/2/3/4/ 'The Kingfisher' by William Douglas-Home 1983

9363/2/3/5/ 'David and Jonathan' by William Douglas-Home 1984
For Artistic Director's file relating to this production see 6894/7/2/6.

9363/2/3/6/ 'The Bird Watcher' by Georges Feydeau 1986

9363/2/3/7/ 'Gaslight' by Patrick Hamilton 1987-1988

9363/2/3/8/ Watership Down' by Richard Adams 1993-1994

9363/2/3/9/ 'An Ideal Husband' by Oscar Wilde 1988-1989

9363/2/3/10/ Other productions 1980-[1990s]

9363/2/4/ Newscuttings 1969-1998
The files of newscuttings contain not only cuttings on theatre productions but also reports on social and other activities connected with The Redgrave. They are mostly items from the 'Surrey Herald' and 'Surrey Advertiser'. The files were presumably compiled by staff of the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd.

9363/2/5/ The Redgrave Studio 1974-1984
The Redgrave Studio was an integral part of the theatre and was used for rehearsals, youth theatre work and small scale productions. The following selected files, containing production photographs, some correspondence and related papers, reflect the kind of production held in the Studio.

9363/2/6/ Youth Theatre 1991-1992

9363/2/7/ Other records 1975

9363/3/ THE REDGRAVE THEATRE: FUNDRAISING AND PUBLICITY 1966-1974

9363/3/1/ The Redgrave Theatre Appeal 1966-1974

9363/3/2/ Other fundraising events and publicity [1970s]-1993

9363/4/ PLAYGOERS CIRCLE, CASTLE CLUB AND THE REDGRAVE THEATRE CLUB 1959-1999
The Social Club provided support for the Castle Theatre during the 1950s and 1960s (for minutes of the Social Committee, 1951-1970, see 8694/6/11-16). A complementary Playgoers' Circle was founded in the early 1960s to organise artistic support such as play and poetry readings, theatre related talks etc. In Apr 1974 the two support groups came together to form the Castle Club, the Playgoers Circle becoming the Theatre Arts section of the Club. The Redgrave Theatre Club was constituted in 1989 as the successor to the Castle Club.

9363/4/1/ Playgoers Circle (later the Theatre Arts section of the Castle Club) 1959-1993

9363/4/2/ Castle Club 1974-1989

9363/4/3/ The Redgrave Theatre Club 1989-1999

9363/5/ FARNHAM REPERTORY COMPANY LIMITED 1948-1996
See also 6894/2/-.

9363/6/ FARNHAM REPERTORY THEATRE TRUST 1969-1997
The Trust was established by the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd but was separately administered. The first meeting of the Trustees was on 31 Mar 1969. The Trust was set up to further the proposal to erect a theatre on the site of Brightwell House and, once built, to own and maintain it, holding the theatre on a lease from the local authority. The Trust in turn sublet the building to the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd. The majority of the trustees were also Directors of the Repertory Company, and some were members of the support group, the Castle Club. The papers in this series (with the exception of 9363/6/4/2) are those of David Franklin, Chairman of the Trust. Mr and Mrs Franklin, trustees from 1985 and 1983 respectively, were successively Chairmen of the Trust from 1986. For further papers of the Trust, 1969-1998, see 6894/3/1-5.

9363/6/1/ Trustees 1969-1997

9363/6/2/ Minutes 1969-1997

9363/6/3/ Financial 1969-1997

9363/6/4/ Premises 1971-1994

9363/6/5/ Correspondence and papers 1969-1998

9363/7/ FARNHAM THEATRE PRODUCTIONS 1996-1998
See also 8694/5/-.

9363/8/ CAMPAIGN TO RE-OPEN THE REDGRAVE THEATRE 2004

9363/9/ HISTORIES AND NOTES [1950s]-1989

In 1939, Laurence Ray and the English Classical Players opened a season of weekly repertory in a converted 16th century barn on Castle Street, Farnham. The opening production in the newly-named Farnham Playhouse was George Bernard Shaw's 'You Never Can Tell' and the first season ran until June 1940 (9363/1/1/1).

Upon re-opening in Oct 1941, the theatre was renamed The Castle Theatre and the English Classical Players were renamed the Farnham Repertory Company under the direction of Norman Buckle, an actor from Ray's company. In 1948 the Farnham Repertory Company was incorporated and became the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd.

The Castle Theatre continued to operate as a weekly repertory theatre until 1963, when plays were produced on a fortnightly basis. Apart from a brief period, 1969-1970, when new productions opened every three weeks, plays continued to be produced fortnightly until the theatre closed in 1974, being replaced by The Redgrave Theatre.

Productions at The Castle Theatre were under the following Artistic Directors:

Laurence Ray: 1939-1940; Norman Buckle, 1941-1947; Donald O'Malley, 1947-1948; Peter Gordon, 1948-1951; Tim Hudson, 1951-1954; Roy Adams, 1955-1958; Richard Brooks, 1958-1960; George Harland, 1960-1962; Joan Knight, 1962-1965; Antony Tuckey, 1965-1967; Caroline Smith, 1967-1969; Malcolm Griffiths, 1969-1970; Ian Mullins, 1970-1974.

The Redgrave Theatre opened in June 1974 in the newly built/converted Brightwell House in Farnham, with a performance of 'Romeo and Juliet'. The theatre continued to produce all its own plays, under the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd, until 1991 when, due to financial shortages, the theatre began to host travelling productions for half the year.

The Redgrave closed in January 1995 and the Farnham Repertory Company Ltd was wound up. The theatre reopened in November 1996 with a mixed programme of plays and musical events but closed again in 1998.

Artistic Directors at The Redgrave Theatre were:

Ian Mullins, 1974-1977; David Horlock, 1977-1982; Stephen Barry, 1982-1986; Patrick Sandford, 1986-1988; Graham Watkins, 1988-1994; Roland Jaquarello, 1994.

For an introduction to the management and administration of both the Castle and Redgrave Theatres see the introduction to 6894.

There are no access restrictions.

Deposited by Mrs Anne Cooper, Chairman of the Farnham Theatre Association, in August 2014.

The records had been amassed by The Castle and Redgrave Theatres, and became the property of the Theatre Association some years ago. They had been temporarily kept at Farnham Museum store.

An item level description of the archive is available on the Surrey History Centre online catalogue

The records were selected from a quantity of material held at Farnham Museum store. Whilst all available programmes were retained, a selection was made from the production files and photographs, retaining only those for particularly significant productions. The collection also includes some fundraising and administrative records.

For printed histories of the Castle Theatre and Redgrave Theatre, Farnham, nd [1948 x 1998], see 6609/2/-;

For programmes of productions at the Castle Theatre, Farnham, 1960-1971, see 5180/1/-.

For the Castle Theatre and Redgrave Theatre administrative records, 1940-1998, see 6894.

The Redgrave Theatre, illustrated souvenir brochure for the opening of the theatre (Farnham, 1974) (6894/7/2/21);
For a summary of the Redgrave Theatre funding difficulties prior to 1996, see the Farnham Herald, 29 Nov 1996.