The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

on the River Lambourn. As a

producing house A producing house is a theatre which ‘manufactures' its own shows in-house (such as plays, musicals, opera, or dance) and perhaps does everything from honing the script, building the set, casting the actors and designing and making the costum ...

, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West End, including the 2004 revival of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''.

History

The theatre is situated in Bagnor Mill, a former corn mill on the River Lambourn in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened as a 113-seat amateur theatre in 1965, having been converted by David Gollins. In 1967 the theatre was expanded with the addition of a

fly system A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of rope lines, blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components suc ...

and lighting control, and housed its first professional productions. In 1971, the auditorium was rebuilt to allow a capacity of 170. In 1981 the theatre was purchased by Jill Fraser, who sought to change it from a local repertory theatre into a

. In the 1990s, the Propeller company was formed at the theatre. In the early 21st century, the theatre staged a number of productions that subsequently transferred to the West End – including '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' and ''

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

''. In the mid 2000s, Fraser sought to sell the theatre to ensure its long-term future. The "Save The Watermill" appeal was founded to raise funds to allow the board of trustees to purchase the theatre. Fraser died from cancer in February 2006. In 2008 it was announced that funds had been met for the theatre's purchase. Fraser was succeeded as artistic director by Hedda Beeby. Paul Hart, the incumbent artistic director, was appointed as Beeby's successor in 2015.

Productions

In March 2020, the theatre produced the world premiere of '' The Wicker Husband''. The musical closed on its press night due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and is due to return in March 2022. The theatre ended 2021 with Tom Jackson Greaves's adaptation of ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

''. ''

WhatsOnStage WhatsOnStage.com is a London-based website that provides information about, and offers tickets for, theatrical performances in the United Kingdom. It also organises the annual WhatsOnStage Awards. Founded in 1996, it has been owned by the Ameri ...

'' described the use of they/them pronouns for Mowgli as "wonderfully inclusive", although a review in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' said that "in its eagerness to put across its message of inclusivity the show is sometimes over-earnest".

References

{{reflist 1967 establishments in England Producing theatres in England Theatres in Berkshire West Berkshire District