Sue Townsend Theatre (formerly the Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix Arts Centre and the Upper Brown Street Theatre) is a theatre in the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England. The centre hosts live shows and films of the

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

and

world cinema World cinema is a term in film theory in the United States that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. ...

genres. Julian Wright is credited for his work to preserve the theatre from demolition in the 1980s and in the 2000s. In 2010, after a new Phoenix Square opened on the other side of the city centre, the space became the Upper Brown Street Theatre, a music-training and performance venue. It has since been renamed the Sue Townsend Theatre, to honour the late Leicester author and playwright,

Sue Townsend Susan Lillian Townsend (; 2 April 194610 April 2014) was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole. After writing in secret from the a ...

History

In 1963,

Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...

(LCC), identifying a gap in cultural provision for live performances, built a 262-seat theatre in Leicester, The Phoenix Theatre, intended as a temporary solution until a more permanent theatre could be built. The theatre's roster of directors includes Clive Perry, Michael Bogdanov, Chris Martin, Ian Giles, Sue Pomeroy, Graham Watkins, Paul Wetherby and Adrian Bean, and actors such as Nigel Bennett, Roberta Kerr, Heather Sears, Perry Cree,

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

and Greta Scacci. The theatre was intended to serve the Leicester community by presenting both "in house" productions and touring companies, including dance and small-scale theatre productions for Leicestershire. Notable in the touring work were productions about the travelling community and about

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

. The early 1980s were the theatre's most active period, when it employed some eighty people. The company included a main acting troupe, a touring company called "Flying Phoenix", and a touring dance company, "Phoenix Dance". It developed new writers, notably Sue Townsend, and premiered many productions that went on to national acclaim, such as ''The Hobbit'' and '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole''. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the theatre hosted annual revues performed by the Leicester University Revue & Theatre Society (R.A.T.S.), featuring cult comedy performers such as Nick "Tubby" Griffiths. In 1973, a permanent theatre, the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

, was built. Support for the Phoenix Theatre continued to keep it operational. It was renamed the Phoenix Arts Centre and functioned alongside the Haymarket until 1987, when financial issues forced the LCC to reconsider its support. A decision to close the centre was averted in 1988 by support from Leicester Polytechnic (now

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

) and the LCC, and while the Phoenix was no longer a producing theatre, it continued as a venue for contemporary art, film and live performances. The Phoenix faced closure in the summer of 2009, to be replaced by a new building, Phoenix Square, in the Cultural Quarter of the city. However, local musician Julian Wright campaigned successfully to stop LCC from selling. In June 2009, the council asked for bids from arts groups for a five-year lease. Under the lease terms, films and professional theatre productions would not be permitted, so as not to compete with Phoenix Square and Leicester's new Curve Theatre, respectively. The winning bid, announced on 12 November, was made by a group comprising

Leicester College Leicester College is a further education college in Leicester, England. It is one of the largest colleges in the UK, with more than 26,000 students, 1,600 staff, plus an annual budget of over £50million. It has three main campuses in the ci ...

and four local music promoters. Social enterprise organisation Leicester Stride, a major element in one of the other bids, was invited to play a part in the centre's future. On 6 March 2010, the '' Leicester Mercury'' announced that the centre was renamed the Upper Brown Street campus of Leicester College. Leicester property developer Norman Gill gave £25,000 towards refurbishment through the Norman Gill Charitable Trust. The theatre re-opened in 2010. As well as performances from Leicester College and students in Performing Arts and Music and Sound courses, the Upper Brown Street venue hosts shows and acts from external performers. In 2011, Upper Brown Street presented its first full-scale musical production, '' Hairspray''. The production was created by Leicester College students. Prior to this, first-year students performed

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...

''. In 2015, the theatre was re-branded as the Sue Townsend Theatre, which coincided with the opening of Curve's production of ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole''. To honour the late playwright, students produced a version of ''Womberang''.

Productions, events and shows

Phoenix Theatre, 1963–1973

* Opening production, 1963, '' The Matchmaker'' by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

, directed by Clive Perry * ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

'' written by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

, starring Kenneth Colley * '' Caucasian Chalk Circle'' * ''Richard III'', starring Bill Wallis

Phoenix Arts Centre, 1973–2010

* ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (1976?), written by

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

* ''Lucy in the Sky'' (1977), performed in a circus tent in the theatre car park; theatre troupe took circus-training lessons and performed circus routines as part of the pla

* '' What the Butler Saw (play), What the Butler Saw'' (1977), written by

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his murder in 1967 committed by his partner, was short but highly i ...

, directed by Antonia Bird * ''No More Sitting on the Old School Bench'' (1979), written by Alan Bleasdale * ''Killer on the Dance Floor'' (1980), written by

and Rod Thompson * ''Little Brother, Little Sister'' (1981), written by

David Campton David Campton (2 May 1924 – 9 September 2006) was a prolific British dramatist who wrote plays for the stage, radio, and cinema for thirty-five years. Biography Campton was born in Leicester, in 1924. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School ...

* ''The Ghost of Daniel Lambert'' (1981), written by

* ''Captain Christmas and the Evil Adults'' (1982), written by

* ''Mother Goose'' and ''Dancing Dan'' (1983), written by Paul Wetherby *''The Hobbit'' (1984), written by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

, adapted by Rony Robinson and Graham Watkins; original score by Stephanie Nunn * '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' (1984), written by

* ''The

Project'' (2007)

Upper Brown Street Theatre, 2010–2015

* ''

'' (2010) * '' Hairspray'' (2011) * '' The Lord of the Flies'' (2011) * ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by ...

'' (2011) * ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' (2011) * '' Ten Voices – Musical Cabaret'' (2011) * '' Musical Stages'' (2012) * ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' (2012)

Sue Townsend Theatre, since 2015

* '' Womberang'' (2015) * ''

Curtain Call A curtain call (often known as a walkdown or a final Bowing, bow) occurs at the end of a performance when one or more performers return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for the performance. In musical theatre, the performers typi ...

'' (2016) * ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, created by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional ...

'' (2017)

Phoenix broadsheets

From the late 1970s, local

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...

printer Toni Savage, of The New Broom Press, took to distributing 8"×5"

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

s through the theatre, and other channels. These were distributed freely rather than sold, and published a vast range of writers, local, obscure and sometimes well-known. Over 400 were printed into the 1990s. These broadsheets were later catalogued, released as a limited edition of 200 copies by a small press craft printer.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Phoenix historySue Townsend Theatre – Leicester College
1963 establishments in England Cinemas in Leicestershire Contemporary music Dance venues in England Musical theatre companies in the United Kingdom Music venues completed in 1963 Music venues in Leicestershire Theatres completed in 1963 Theatres in Leicester