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Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

Coordinates: 51°33′55″N 0°13′10″E / 51.5652°N 0.2195°E / 51.5652; 0.2195
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Queen's Theatre
Theatre exterior
Map
AddressBillet Lane
Hornchurch
England
LocationLondon, UK
Coordinates51°33′55″N 0°13′10″E / 51.5652°N 0.2195°E / 51.5652; 0.2195
Public transit
OwnerHavering Council
OperatorHavering Theatre Trust
TypeTheatre
Capacity507
ProductionThe Turn of the Screw
Construction
Opened21 September 1953 (1953-09-21)
Rebuilt2 April 1975 (1975-04-02)
Years active1953–present
ArchitectHallam and Brooks (Havering Council)
Website
www.queens-theatre.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameQueens Theatre
Designated13 May 2022
Reference no.1480655

The Queen's Theatre is a 507-seat mid-scale producing theatre located in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. The theatre was originally located on Station Lane, Hornchurch on a site that was used as a cinema and had become derelict. Hornchurch Urban District Council was one of the first councils to use powers of the Local Government Act 1948 to purchase the building in 1948. The 379-seat theatre opened in 1953, the same year as the Coronation of Elizabeth II. Threatened with demolition to make way for a road scheme, it was relocated to a new purpose-built building on Billet Lane in 1975.

History

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Station Lane site

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The first site was located on Station Lane, Hornchurch. It had operated as a cinema from 1913 to 1935 under the names Hornchurch Cinema and Super Cinema.[1] The building fell into disuse in 1935.[2] During World War II, it was used first for storage of drugs and medical supplies and then to store furniture.[2]

The Local Government Act 1948 permitted councils to operate or contribute to the running of entertainment and cultural venues.[3] Hornchurch Urban District Council was one of the first councils to take up these powers.[3] It purchased the derelict cinema in 1948 in order to convert it into a theatre.[2]

The 379-seat theatre was opened by Ralph Richardson on 21 September 1953 and the inaugural production was See How They Run.[3] The theatre was named to reflect its opening in the same year as the Coronation of Elizabeth II.[2]

It was incorporated as a charity called the Hornchurch Theatre Trust on 19 October 1953.[2] The eight directors were made up of two members from each political party represented on the council.[4]

After opening, the Hornchurch Council purchased additional land adjacent to the theatre in order to provide a car park, workshops and dressing rooms.[2]

Initially, it operated without any grant income.[5] It was anticipated that the theatre could break even if attendance did not fall below 60%.[3] It was successful in its opening year and was able to pay its running costs and rent, and repay a £500 loan (equivalent to £17,634 in 2023).[6] After three years and seventy productions, including an annual pantomime, the theatre had maintained an average of 70% attendance.[2]

Ian Curteis was director of productions for eight months in 1963, until he quit due to a disagreement with the directors.[7] His last production was Candida.[8]

Hornchurch Urban District Council was replaced by Havering London Borough Council on 1 April 1965 when Hornchurch became part of the London Borough of Havering. Havering Council planned to demolish the theatre in 1970 to make way for a road scheme.[9]

The last performance at the theatre was the closing night of a pantomime on Saturday 8 February 1975.[10]

Move to Billet Lane

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Havering Council was considering a new site for the theatre in 1968 and commissioned a study to evaluate the likely attendance if the theatre moved to an alternative site in Hornchurch or was relocated to Romford. The study showed that if the theatre was located in Romford it would likely have 25% greater attendance than in Hornchurch.[11]

The new theatre on Billet Lane, Hornchurch, was designed by Havering borough architects Hallam and Brooks.[12] Construction cost £718,921, paid by Havering Council.[13] It was officially opened by Peter Hall on 2 April 1975, with an initial production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.[14]

Artistic director John Hole introduced regular Sunday jazz music performances to the foyer in February 1976.[15]

Funding crisis

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The theatre was significantly affected by the impact of the Local Government Act 1985 on arts funding. Up until 1984/85 the Hornchurch Theatre Trust received an annual grant of £148,000 (equivalent to £600,852 in 2023) from the Arts Council of Great Britain. This was reduced to zero from 1985/86 onwards as part of a policy of redistributing funding away from London to the metropolitan counties where arts funding county councils had been abolished.[16][17][18] The Greater London Council had been funding the theatre, but it was also abolished as part of the reforms. This left Havering Council as the only grant giver funding the theatre.[19]

Bob Tomson replaced John Hole as artistic director in 1985. By 1994 the theatre was receiving £236,000 from grant funding and income from ticket sales had increased with an average of 75% attendance. Havering Council had largely replaced the Arts Council funding and this was supplemented by a grant from the London Boroughs Grants Committee.[13]

Improved fortunes

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The Queen's Theatre Auditorium 2018

In 2000, a new £50,000 fund was created by London Arts Board for theatres in Outer London and the Queen's Theatre received the entire pot.[20] Havering Council was providing a grant of £340,000 with 75% of income coming from ticket sales.[20]

The theatre received increased London Arts funding to £165,000 over three years from 2001 and was visited by the Culture Secretary, Chris Smith, who promised to work to increase funding.[21]

Queen Elizabeth II visited the theatre in 2003.[22]

In 2014 Arts Council England funding was secured until 2018.[23]

Douglas Rintoul became artistic director in 2015.[24]

In 2018 the theatre received a grant of £350,000 from Arts Council England for building improvements.[25] The bar was relocated to the foyer area in 2019.[26]

The theatre was Grade II listed on 13 May 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II celebrations.[27]

Productions

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Station Lane

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Billet Lane

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Funding

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The Queen's Theatre is a registered charity and receives regular funding from the London Borough of Havering and the Arts Council England.

Queen's Green

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Adjacent to the theatre is an open space called Queen's Green.

References

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  1. ^ "Queen's Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Merryn, Anthony (27 September 1956). "Hornchurch Celebrates". The Stage.
  3. ^ a b c d e "A New Civic Theatre". The Stage. 24 September 1953. p. 16.
  4. ^ "How Reading Might Run a Civic Theatre". Reading Standard. 10 January 1958. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Hornchurch Civic Theatre". The Times. No. 53087. 12 November 1954. p. 11.
  6. ^ "Theatre Grid: An Arts Council Suggestion". The Scotsman. 12 November 1954. p. 10.
  7. ^ "Curteis Quits Hornchurch". The Stage. 22 August 1963. p. 1.
  8. ^ "On This Week at Hornchurch". The Stage. 22 August 1963. p. 16.
  9. ^ "Have you had a cuppa?.". Brentwood Gazette. 31 January 1969. p. 2.
  10. ^ Plumley, C. Murray (13 February 1975). "Regional Theatre". The Stage. p. 20.
  11. ^ Whitaker, R. A.; Rhodes, T. (1968). "A Quantitative Analysis of Alternative Theatre Locations". Urban Studies. 5 (2): 121–131. ISSN 0042-0980.
  12. ^ Cherry, Bridget; O'Brien, Charles; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). London. 5: East / by Bridget Cherry, Charles O'Brien and Nikolaus Pevsner ; with contributions from Elizabeth Williamson, Malcolm Tucker and Pamela Greenwood (Reprinted with corrections ed.). New Haven London: Yale Univ. Press. ISBN 9780300107012.
  13. ^ a b Watterston, Julie (28 April 1994). "The name of the game is community service". The Stage. p. 35.
  14. ^ a b "Hornchurch". The Stage. 10 April 1975. p. 15.
  15. ^ Roach, April (11 June 2018). "Hornchurch band celebrates 40 years of jazz at Queen's Theatre". Romford Recorder.
  16. ^ "Cuts backlash--the fight starts". The Stage. 5 April 1984. p. 1.
  17. ^ "40th Annual Report and Accounts 1984/85" (PDF). Arts Council. Arts Council of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  18. ^ "41st Annual Report and Accounts 1985/86" (PDF). Arts Council. Arts Council of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  19. ^ Watterston, Julie (30 April 1987). "How the local council took the bull by the Hornchurch". The Stage. pp. 30–31.
  20. ^ a b Austin, Jeremy (16 March 2000). "£50,000 grant is 'testimony to staff at Queen's, Hornchurch". The Stage. p. 2.
  21. ^ "Smith pledge over Queen's Hornchurch". The Stage. 12 April 2001. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Boy tempts Queen to Romford". BBC News. 6 March 2003. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  23. ^ Gelder, Sam (3 July 2014). "Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch granted vital Arts Council funding". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  24. ^ Golder, Paul (1 July 2015). "Douglas Rintoul joins the Queens team". Phoenix FM. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  25. ^ Snow, Georgia (26 October 2018). "Opera North and National Youth Theatre among recipients of £11.6m Arts Council grants". The Stage. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  26. ^ Roach, April (20 March 2019). "Queen's Theatre launches glamorous new Q Bar". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  27. ^ Masso, Giverny (31 May 2022). "Queen's Theatre Hornchurch given grade II-listing to celebrate Jubilee". The Stage. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Poetry Well Spoken". The Stage. 13 May 1954. p. 12.
  29. ^ "On This Week at Hornchurch". The Stage. 8 February 1968. p. 16.
  30. ^ Hepple, Peter (11 May 1978). "Tommy". The Stage. p. 21.
  31. ^ "Hornchurch: Blood Brothers". The Stage. 2 April 1987. p. 21.
  32. ^ Watterston, Julie (8 June 1989). "Touching up the roots". The Stage. p. 15.
  33. ^ Watterston, Julie (19 November 1992). "Hornchurch: Gaslight". The Stage. p. 18.
  34. ^ Watterston, Julie (19 November 1992). "Hornchurch: Lust". The Stage. p. 16.
  35. ^ Morley-Priestman, Anne (16 May 2011). "The Rocky Horror Show (Hornchurch)". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  36. ^ "Return to the Forbidden Planet at Queen's Hornchurch". London Theatre. 8 June 2016.
  37. ^ Shenton, Mark (5 September 2016). "Made in Dagenham review, Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, 2016". The Stage. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  38. ^ Omaweng, Chris (26 April 2017). "Review of Educating Rita at The Queen's Theatre Hornchurch". LondonTheatre1. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  39. ^ Vale, Paul (2 May 2018). "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert review, Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, 2018". The Stage. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  40. ^ Gillinson, Miriam (27 August 2019). "As You Like It review – musical take on Shakespeare inspires and thrills". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  41. ^ Malies, Jeremy (1 September 2021). "Beginning Queen's Theatre Hornchurch". Plays International & Europe. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Review: Kinky Boots (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch)". All That Dazzles. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  43. ^ Harbottle, Alan (4 March 2024). "Review: My Beautiful Laundrette, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch". Everything Theatre. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  44. ^ Omaweng, Chris (4 September 2024). "Bedroom Farce - Queen's Theatre Hornchurch | Review". LondonTheatre1. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
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