Creation Theatre Company
Creation Theatre Company is a producing theatre based in Oxford, England.[1] Founded in 1996 by David Parrish [2] the company became a charity in 2007 [3] and produces site specific adaptations of classic stories and Shakespeare.[4]
Management
The founding Artistic Director David Parrish announced his departure in 2010,[2] to take on a producing role at the National Theatre of Norway.[5] He was succeeded by James Erskine, who had previously worked for The Gate Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe.[2] Erskine left the company in 2012 and since 2012 Lucy Askew has been Artistic Producer of Creation Theatre.[6]
Cast and creative team
Creation does not have a fixed company of actors or artistic staff, instead using a freelance team for each project. Past Directors include Laurie Sansom[7] Joanna Read,[8] Richard Beecham,[9] Gareth Machin,[10] Tim Carroll[11] Natalie Abrahami[12] Jonathan Holloway.[13] and Charlotte Conquest[14]
Performance venues
Creation has never had a theatre building and produces shows in unusual spaces across the city of Oxford. The first productions, from 1996–2002 were performed open air in the grounds of Magdalen College School. For Christmas performances between 2004 and 2011 the company erected a Spiegeltent in the car park of BMW Group Plant [2] with shows such as Beauty and the Beast[15] and The Winter's Tale. Following its renovation in 2005 Creation has performed seven shows at Oxford Castle. In 2011, Creation was the first theatre company to perform at Blackwell’s Bookshop to perform Doctor Faustus,[16] and has gone on to perform Hamlet and The Odyssey, a co-production with The Factory Theatre Company,[16] and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde.[17] Since Christmas 2011 Creation has performed at The North Wall Arts Centre[18] with A Christmas Carol, Aladdin and the Magical Lamp, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Wind in the Willows.[19] Most recently, Creation has staged festive productions of Alice and Cinderella at The Mill Arts Centre, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four at the Oxford Mathematical Institute and an adventurous production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with scenes set across the Oxford City Centre.
List of Creation productions
| Production | Year | Venue | Directed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romeo and Juliet | 1996 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Sebastian Doggart |
| Macbeth | 1997 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Zoe Seaton |
| Hamlet | 1998 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Zoe Seaton |
| The Tempest/ Antony and Cleopatra | 1999 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Zoe Seaton |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2000 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Zoe Seaton |
| Alice Through the Looking Glass | 2000 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Laurie Sansom |
| Hamlet | 2001 | BMW Group Plant | Zoe Seaton |
| Romeo and Juliet | 2001 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Richard Beecham |
| Macbeth | 2002 | BMW Group Plant | Zoe Seaton |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2002 | Magdalen College School Grounds | Zoe Seaton |
| Twelfth Night | 2003 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Charlotte Conquest |
| The Tempest | 2003 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Zoe Seaton |
| The Winter's Tale | 2004 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Justin Butcher |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 2004 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Charlotte Conquest |
| Romeo and Juliet | 2004 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Abigail Anderson |
| A Christmas Carol | 2004 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Abigail Anderson |
| The Comedy of Errors | 2005 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Charlotte Conquest |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2005 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Zoe Seaton |
| The Snow Queen | 2005 | BMW Group Plant | Charlotte Conquest |
| King Lear | 2006 | BMW Group Plant | Douglas Rintoul |
| Macbeth | 2006 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Gareth Machin |
| The Merchant of Venice | 2006 | Oxford Castle | Gari Jones |
| Robin Hood | 2006 | Headington Hill Park, Oxford | Adam Meggido |
| Arabian Nights | 2006 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Dominic Cooke |
| Hamlet | 2007 | Oxford Castle Gardens | Gari Jones |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 2007 | Oxford Castle Unlocked Courtyard | Heather Davies |
| The Oxford Passion | 2007 | Oxford Castle Gardens | Charlotte Conquest |
| Tales from the Brother's Grimm | 2007 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Gari Jones |
| Measure for Measure | 2008 | The North Wall | Charlotte Conquest |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 2008 | Oxford Castle Unlocked Courtyard | Charlotte Conquest |
| Saints and Sinners | 2008 | St Micheal at the North Gate | Heather Davies |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2008 | Headington Hill Park (in promenade) | Zoe Seaton |
| Animal Farm | 2008 | Oxford Castle Gardens | Joanna Read |
| Hans Christian Andersen's Magical Tales | 2008 | Mirror Tent, BMW | Caroline Leslie |
| Othello | 2009 | New Road Baptist Church, Oxford | Charlotte Conquest |
| Twelfth Night | 2009 | Said Business School Rooftop Amphitheatre | Heather Davies |
| Beauty and the Beast | 2009 | Mirror Tent, MINI Plant Oxford | Sarah Punshon |
| Romeo and Juliet | 2010 | Said Business School Rooftop Amphitheatre | Charlotte Conquest |
| Rapunzel or The Magic Pig | 2010 | Mirror Tent, MINI Plant Oxford | Charlotte Conquest |
| Doctor Faustus | 2010 | Blackwell's Bookshop | Charlotte Conquest |
| Tales from King James | 2011 | St Barnabus Church | Helen Tennison |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 2011 | Said Business School Rooftop Amphitheatre | Helen Tennison |
| A Christmas Carol | 2011 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Charlotte Conquest |
| Hamlet | 2012 | Blackwell's Bookshop | Tim Carroll |
| The Odyssey | 2012 | Blackwell's Bookshop | Tim Carroll |
| Richard II | 2012 | Oxfam House | Ashtar Theatre Company |
| The Comedy of Errors | 2012 | Sheldonian Theatre | Corinne Jaber |
| The Merchant of Venice | 2012 | Said Business School Rooftop Amphitheatre | Natalie Abrahami |
| Aladdin and the Magic Lamp | 2012 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Charlotte Conquest |
| Jekyll and Hyde | 2013 | Blackwell's Bookshop | Caroline Devlin |
| Henry V | 2013 | Oxford Castle Unlocked Courtyard | Charlotte Conquest |
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2013 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Charlotte Conquest |
| Macbeth | 2014 | Lady Margaret Hall | Jonathan Holloway |
| The Wind in the Willows | 2014 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Gari Jones |
| As You Like It | 2015 | Lady Margaret Hall | Tom Littler |
| Alice | 2015 | St Hugh's College | Helen Tennison |
| Treasure Island | 2015 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Gari Jones |
| Alice | 2015 | The Mill Arts Centre | Helen Tennison |
| King Lear | 2016 | The Norrington Room, Blackwell's Bookshop | Charlotte Conquest |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2016 | Across West Oxford (in promenade) | Zoe Seaton |
| Hamlet | 2016 | University Parks | Gari Jones |
| Cinderella | 2016 | The Mill Arts Centre | Helen Tennison |
| Snow White and Other Tales from
the Brother's Grimm |
2016 | The North Wall Arts Centre | Gari Jones |
| Nineteen Eighty Four | 2017 | Oxford's Mathematical Instituite | Jonathan Holloway |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 2017 | Across West Oxford (in promenade) | Zoe Seaton |
| Alice | 2017 | University Parks | Helen Tennison |
Education and Drama Club
Alongside their commercial productions, Creation also runs drama clubs and workshops for young people.
Creation Drama Club
The Creation Drama Club currently consists of 17 different clubs spread across Oxford and Abingdon, with a total of 160 attendees aged 5–16. These clubs allow children to work with professional actors and aim to introduce children to Shakespeare, classic stories, characters and text in an imaginative and unique way.[20]
Creation Youth Company
Creation Young Company is a group of theatre makers aged 16+ who create work that is inspired by the world around them. The company meets for two hours a week over a 24 week period and build and stage a full length play over this time. Through weekly workshops, the group also explore acting, writing and devising, lead by guest practitioners.The youth company is designed to develop the skills of actors, designers, writers and stage managers. The youth company explore site specific performance and have the opportunity to train as Young Assistants and teach at Creation's drama clubs.[21]
'Put on a Show in a Week' workshops and Holiday Workshops
Holiday workshop attendees are given the opportunity to rehearse and stage a play in one week. These workshops include Put on Shakespeare in a Week, Put on Alice in Wonderland in a Week and Put on The Odyssey in a week.[22] These workshops run in Oxford and Banbury and have for age groups with attendees aged 6–19.
References
- ^ "Creation Theatre Company". tripadvisor.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d "Creation Theatre company celebrates its 16th birthday (The Oxford Times)". The Oxford Times.
- ^ "Charity Overview". The Charity Commission.
- ^ "Creation Theatre on Shakespearemag.com". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Contact – nationaltheatret.no". National Theatre of Norway website.
- ^ "For Art's Sake with Creation Theatre's Lucy Askew (From the Oxford Times)". The Oxford Times.
- ^ "Daily Info Oxford". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "United Agents". United Agents.
- ^ "The Oxford Times". The Oxford Times.
- ^ "National Theatre Website". National Theatre Website. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Public Reviews". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "United Agents". United Agents. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Jonathan Holloway". Red Shift Theatre.
- ^ "Shepperd-Fox Theatrical Agency". www.shepperd-fox.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ "Beauty and the Beast Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Deep Blue Sea, West Yorkshire Playhouse / Doctor Faustus, Blackwell's Bookshop, review". Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Blackwell's and Creation Theatre Present Jekyll & Hyde". Blackwell's Bookshop website.
- ^ "Creation Theatre". Newbury Theatre. UK. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website=|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Wind in the Willows review – fine, meta-sprinkled adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Creation Theatre » Drama Club". www.creationtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ "Creation Theatre » Young Company". www.creationtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ "Creation Theatre » Holiday Workshops". www.creationtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-19.