Headlong (theatre company)

Headlong is a British theatre company noted for reworking plays of the past and commissioning new work. It was previously called Anvil Productions and then the Oxford Stage Company. It has produced plays at theatres in London and across the UK with leading directors including Rupert Goold, Dominic Dromgoole and Sean Holmes.

History

Headlong dates back to 1974 when Anvil Productions was formed as Oxford Playhouse’s theatre company. Its founders were Gordon McDougall and co-director Nicolas Kent, who were later joined by Richard Williams. [1] It later changed its name to the Oxford Stage Company but no longer has any links with the Oxford Playhouse, which was closed from 1987 to 1991.

The Oxford Stage Company moved to London in 2002 but retained its name until 2006. That same year, theatre director Rupert Goold took over from Dominic Dromgoole as artistic director. Goold explained the need for a name change in The Stage newspaper: “It was a decision informed by confusion about our identity as audiences frequently thought we were either a student company or based at the Oxford Playhouse (our mail was often sent there).”[2]

Headlong’s board includes leading actors, directors and writers and in 2009 was made up of Samuel Adamson, Donald Fathers, Sarah Hunt, Paterson Joseph, Joanna Kennedy (chair), Christopher Luscombe, Caroline Maude, Sarah Preece, Wendy Spon and Colin Tweedy.[3]

Productions

Since 2003, its productions around the UK have included:

• The Cherry Orchard (2003) by Anton Chekhov, directed by Dominic Dromgoole
• Bread and Butter (2003) by CP Taylor, directed by Mark Rosenblatt
• Serjeant Musgrave's Dance (2003) by John Arden, directed by Sean Holmes
• Americans (2003) by Eric Schlosser, directed by Dominic Dromgoole
• The Quare Fellow (2004) by Brendan Behan, directed by Kathy Burke
• Singer (2004) by Peter Flannery, directed by Sean Holmes
• Candida (2004) by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Christopher Luscombe
• Home (2004), “described” by David Storey, directed by Sean Holmes
• The Last Waltz (2005), three German plays in rep at the Arcola Theatre, London
• Easter (2005) by August Strindberg, directed by Dominic Dromgoole
• Rookery Nook (2005) by Ben Travers, directed by Dominic Dromgoole
• Men Should Weep (2005) by Ena Lamont Stewart, directed by Charlotte Gwinner
• Cleansed (2005) by Sarah Kane, directed by Sean Holmes
• Paradise Lost (2006), adapted by Ben Power and Rupert Goold and based on John Milton, directed by Rupert Goold
• Restoration (2006) by Edward Bond, directed by Rupert Goold.
• Faustus (2006), Rupert Goold’s reworking of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus to include artists Jake and Dinos Chapman as characters.
• Angels in America (2007) by Tony Kushner’s, directed by Daniel Kramer.
• Rough Crossings (2007), Caryl Churchill’s adaptation of Simon Schama’s non-fiction book.
• The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2008) by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Rupert Goold.
• The English Game (2008) by Richard Bean, directed by Sean Holmes.
• …Sisters (2008), based on Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, adapted and directed by Chris Goode

In 2009, its productions include King Lear, starring Pete Postlethwaite and directed by Rupert Goold, which premiered in 2008 in Liverpool as part of the city’s celebration of being the European capital of culture. It is also touring with Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness by Anthony Neilson and directed by Steve Marmion

External links

Headlong’s website