People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne
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| Address | Stephenson Road, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF Newcastle upon Tyne UK |
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| Opened | 1911 (at Percy Street); 1962 (at Stephenson Road) |
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| www.peoplestheatre.co.uk | |
The People's Theatre is an amateur theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Originally located in the city centre, the People's Theatre moved to its current site, adjacent to the Coast Road in Heaton, in 1962. It mounts some thirteen productions a year including a full-scale family pantomime.
The People's Theatre originated from the Newcastle branch of the former British Socialist Party, who started to stage dramatic productions in 1911 in order to raise money to fund their political activities. One of the theatre's key co-founders was Colin Veitch (1881-1938), captain of Newcastle United in their Edwardian heyday. Plays were originally staged under the name of the Clarion Dramatic Society, one of many so-called 'Clarion' societies then existing within the BSP (such as the Clarion Cycling Club and the Clarion Vocal Union). Its first premises were in the BSP's rooms on the first floor of a building at the corner of Leazes Terrace and Percy Street in Newcastle city centre. Their first performance was of The Bishop's Candlesticks (a drama based on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables) in July 1911. But as Norman Veitch (one of the co-founders and Colin Veitch's brother) later remarked: 'If we're going to murder plays, let's murder the best'. In September they performed Bernard Shaw's The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, although it had been banned by the Lord Chamberlain. Thus began the People's Theatre's close association with Shaw, whose plays combined popular appeal with a social message that appealed to the Fabian political sentiments of the Clarion Society members.
These theatrical productions became so popular that the dramatic society started to cast their net wider in their choice of plays to include Shakespeare and genres such as comedy. This led to friction with the BSP, so the Clarion group started to look for new premises. The theatre remained active throughout World War I, during which it formally split from the BSP and moved to the Royal Arcade, Pilgrim Street in 1915.
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