Intimate Theatre

The Intimate Theatre was a repertory theatre in Palmers Green, London from 1937 to 1987, and is the name commonly used for St. Monica's Church Hall.

History

St. Monica's Church Hall was built in 1931, and the actor John Clements turned the building into the Intimate Theatre in 1935.[1] It became a full-time professional repertory theatre in 1937.[2]

After he was demobbed, Roger Moore was a member of the repertory company, and earned about £10 per week.[3] In the late 1940s, the BBC televised 14 plays from the theatre.

During the 1960s, the repertory company put on a new play each week,[4] although Max Rietmann's Hot and Cold in all Rooms played to a capacity audience for three weeks in 1962.[5]

In March 1968, David Bowie acted the role of Cloud in Lindsay Kemp's Pierrot In Turquoise at the theatre.[6]

In August 1968 Richard Todd starred in Man with a Load of Mischief with Dilys Laye.[7]

In 1969, the building reverted for a short time to its use as a church hall before returning to its use as a theatre.[8]

In 1987, the usage as a theatre was reduced to allow the church to hold other events.[9]

Current use

It has a current capacity of 435 Today (2012) the theatre was used by Protos Theatre & Arts Group, The London Pantomimers, [10] Acorn Theatre Company, [11] Saint Monica's Players, [12] and other amateur drama groups. It is located on Green Lanes.[2] In January 2019, it was placed on the Heritage at Risk Register after the church owners said they wanted to demolish the building to replace it with a new parish hall.[13]

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gollark: > that's like the single good thing about it I can think ofAgain, do you *not* have values other than "maximize the number of humans around"?
gollark: Self-loathing is totally a thing which exists.
gollark: Yes, go humans, ish.
gollark: 2023.

References
  1. Chambers, Colin (2006). "Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre". p.165. Continuum International Publishing Group. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  2. "Intimate (London)". Theatres Database. The Theatres Trust. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  3. Moore, Roger. "Roger Moore from 1972 - page 4". Roger Moore - The Early Days. The Roger Moore Web Team. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  4. Shellard, Dominic (4 September 2006). "Interview with Stephen Wischhusen". Theatre Archive Project. British Library. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  5. Wischhusen, Stephen (6 September 2006). "Comment". Conference 'More Than Just Osborne?' 5 September 2006, 18.30-21.00. Theatre Archive Project. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  6. Kinder, P. "1958-1969 Concert Performances". Tours. BowieWonderworld. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  7. Man with a Load of Mischief, production details: West End Broadway: The Golden Age of the American Musical in London By Adrian Wright 2012
  8. T F T Baker, R B Pugh (Editors), A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Eileen P Scarff, G C Tyack (1976). "Edmonton: Social life". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham. British History Online. Retrieved 31 March 2011.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. "A Brief History of Risley Musical Theatre Company (Formerly Risley Operatic Group)". Risley Musical Theatre Company. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  10. The London Pantomimers Archived 2012-08-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 29 May 2012
  11. Acorn Theatre Company Retrieved 29 May 2012
  12. St Monica's players Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 May 2011
  13. Dex, Robert (22 January 2019). "The Intimate Theatre: Venue where Richard Attenborough made stage debut placed on 'at risk' list". Evening Standard.

Further reading
  • Intimate Memories: The History of the Intimate Theatre, Palmers Green by Geoff Bowden, Badger Press, 2006 ISBN 978-0-9526076-3-2

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