1960s | oldstokereptheatre

The 1920's

The 1960s

Socialising In The Sixties

When the Theatre Royal, Hanley closed in 1961 it left the Repertory Theatre as the only live, permanent theatre in North Staffordshire. This was to be short-lived however as the Victoria Theatre (housing a professional company) opened at Hartshill in 1962. The building had previously been used as a cinema and nightclub. At a cost of £5000 it became the first permanent ‘theatre-in-the-round’ in the country.

The social side of the Rep was very much alive and varied in the 1960s. This included events such as a Christmas buffet dance at Newcastle Rugby Club in December 1961, an annual barbecue at Butterton House in May 1962 and a wine and cheese evening at Trentham Rugby Club in November 1962. These were in addition to the annual dinner dances that took place at the North Stafford Hotel.

In 1963 the Players were shocked by the tragic death of member Albert Hancock in a climbing accident. They paid tribute to “one of our outstanding actors who will be best remembered for performances in 'The Heiress', 'The Rape of the Belt' and 'Queen Elizabeth'. Albert also gave his services readily and willingly to the many offstage activities without which the Repertory Theatre could not exist. He will greatly missed by us all.”

For the 1964-65 season gas fired central heating was installed in the theatre adding to “the comfort of our audiences not to mention the cast and working parties”.

Autumn 1968 saw a big change in the traditional season structure as the Players agreed to increase their annual number of main season productions from 4 to 5. This remained the structure during the rest of their time at Beresford Street.