Although it was not until 1989 that the Forge Theatre was finally opened to the public, the idea had been in gestation for over 15 years.
The idea of “Studio Theatre” was growing strongly in the late 1960s and 1970s, and in the bar at the theatre on Monday nights keen theatregoers would discuss the merits and de-merits of presenting plays in such a format. I suppose that Derek Collier and I were the leading proponents, being such keen theatregoers around the country. We were encouraged to dream about the possibility of BLT having its own Studio space by several local and national developments.
In 1974 Derek and I conceived of the idea of presenting a play in the Great Hall at Smithills, and with The Lady’s Not For Burning the annual Smithills Festival began. The presentation of plays there, both “in-the-round” and in “thrust-stage”, proved very popular with both audiences and actors, and gave directors valuable experience. We were also increasingly aware of the success of Whitefield Garrick Theatre in their tiny little space at Bank Street – surely one of the tiniest little theatres in the land! I was invited to direct there, and many of our actors began to gain valuable experience as well. Nationally, the big news was the opening of the Swan Theatre and The Other Place at Stratford – the wonderful quality of the work done there put the main stage sometimes to shame!
By the Spring of 1980 there was the enthusiasm, generated in no small measure by Kate Campbell and Robin Wiseman, as well as the pressures of satisfying the ambitions of the Youth Theatre group, to try out our own Foyer/Bar for the presentation of plays to the public. The first such venture was The Chips Are Down, Michael Tatman’s translation of Sartre’s Huis Clos, followed by the premiere of Peter Pemrick’s play Cousin Robert. At the same time a whole crowd of us went down to Questors Theatre in Ealing to present Harold Brighouse’s play Dealing in Futures, and there saw how an ambitious amateur theatre could present plays in a properly designed Studio Theatre, with minimal outlay, and yet maximum effect. In straightened financial times under Mrs Thatcher, this was quite an eye-opener.
The real incentive for us at Bolton, however, came in November 1982 when the Local Authority refused to grant us a licence to perform until the building was brought up to date! So many matters had to be dealt with, and our resources were at rock bottom, so that we had to work piecemeal on the building, with a licence only being granted play by play for over six months. The one thing we could not physically do, however, was to increase the size of the public toilets, which were built in 1934 to serve an auditorium of 300 seats, and new regulations now meant that our auditorium would have to be reduced to no more than 200 seats. Suddenly the idea of splitting the tube-like auditorium into two parts, and creating a studio theatre in the rear, became not just a dream but a pressing necessity. Would the membership go along with this ambitious idea?
On the 10th January 1983 we held an emergency open meeting, both to raise funds for the necessary remedial work, and also to consider the long term future of the theatre. A working party was set up, of Robin Pemberton Billing, Norma Wardle, Ken Sheridan, Oliver Holt, Neville Coates, Robert Naylor Stables and Alec Ainsworth. Question 3 to be addressed was – Is our theatre suitable in its present layout?
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| Display showing the construction of the Forge Theatre |
On 8th April the working party reported positively – yes, we should strive to split the auditorium to create a studio theatre for experimental productions, the training of youngsters and extended social activities. Robert Naylor Stables produced a well thought out sketch plan of how this might be done, and preliminary estimates indicated a possible cost of over £32,000. It was thought that the work could be done to finish in time for the 1984 Golden Jubilee of the opening of the theatre in Hanover Street.
And so we went ahead – even though the theatre was hugely busy with all the problems attached to presenting a normal season of plays. By the time of the AGM in October 1983, more detailed plans had been commissioned from architect Grenville Birch, which were on public display for discussion. Ian McKellen had given the Appeal for funds a tremendous kick-start with the public donation of his fee for appearing at the Bolton Festival. But the pressures of keeping us watertight took over as the roof almost blew away, and realistically we decided to delay the project for a year to 1985. With Harry Sabini as Chairman, and Tom Ashton as President we were lucky to have such supportive leaders at this time. The plans grew in ambition too – Philip Lindley came up from London to give his advice – and now we were thinking of linking the rehearsal room to the wardrobe area, improving the foyer/bar and entrance hall, and improving the lighting rigs and whole stage area.
On 15th September we launched the Appeal Fund with a target of £100,000 with the assistance of a professional fund raiser for three months, who was located in a spare room at the offices of Cyril Morris Arkwright & Co. We installed a progress thermometer in the entrance hall, which began to rise slowly. Plans were prepared to the stage at which they could be submitted for planning permission. Then in April 1985 came the big blow – or so we thought at the time: Bolton MBC made a grant of £37,000 outright to the Octagon Theatre so that they could have a Studio Theatre without waiting for it! And we were in the throes of Mrs Thatcher’s austerity cuts! And definitely very low in the pecking order!
But we ploughed on. We had Janice Drake as our treasurer now, and she brought up-to-date financial management ideas to the committee. Michael Holland joined the team as our architect, and final plans were prepared for the local authority to approve. A new push for funding was started. We decided that the new space would be called The Forge Theatre, and plans were even announced for the first productions in the new space in the 1987 season!
Harry Sabini sadly died in late 1986, and Dennis Priestley became our new Chairman, and his experience within the corridors of local government was invaluable. By May 1987 we had £10,000 in the appeal fund, £8,000 in reserves, and then came the break-through – a grant of £32,500 from Inner Urban Aid, spread over two years, provided that we could provide matching funds, and such matching could be counted in voluntary man-hours and home skills. The plans were approved, final estimates and quotations were accepted, and work could begin.
Realistically, we chose January 1988 as the starting date – the theatre had to be closed, and to maintain our season, we were able to move to Smithills Hall with our productions, while the theatre became a hard-hat area for months. There are many photographs of the chaos that ensued! How the backstage teams managed to cope through all that mess was amazing. Of course, things went badly wrong almost immediately – dry rot was found, and most seriously, parts of the old building were found to be absolutely without foundations!! (Cheap jerry-building of the 1840s!). Costs were rising by the week, and fund raising had an increased momentum. We issued Forge Theatre Bonds in June as our final push, and when the builders were finished and finally left, we had the huge task of cleaning up the theatre. Clearly the Forge Theatre would have to wait at least another year before we could open it to the public. Indeed it took us until the end of 1988 before we had the theatre itself ready once again to receive the public.
Lack of funds however prevented us from equipping the Forge Theatre in the way we had originally planned. The cost of rostra and flexible seating proved too much for the funds we had available – and so we decided to install platforms on which to fix some of the seating left over from the old auditorium. This gave us the 60 seats you have today. Will we ever go back to the original plan? Everyone seems more than happy with this arrangement. The lighting for the Forge was pinched from the main stage, and moved backwards and forwards for years until we eventually bought enough equipment to leave permanently in place.
After the usual last minute panic and rush to finish things off, we finally managed to open the Forge Theatre on the 23rd September 1989 with a production of Hindle Wakes by Stanley Houghton, directed by Margaret Ward. The Foyer/Bar had been refurbished too – with a donation of furniture and fittings from Markland Hill Tennis Club, and a carpet from Tom Ashton. The event was tinged with sadness however, as Derek Collier was no longer with us, to witness the completion of a project with which he had for so long been associated.
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We were however truly “Forging Ahead” and now we have 78 productions behind us. The Forge Theatre has never been an experimental studio. From the beginning we have chosen and presented plays suitable to the space, and have encouraged audiences to expect a first rate show at full price tickets. Yes of course there have been experimental plays, and Youth Theatre presentations, and social activities, but ultimately, we are proud of the quality of theatre that we have given you over 21 years.
And now comes the time to refurbish the space! It needs re-plastering and decorating, generally tidying up, and the public lighting needs to be improved. Currently
it is let several afternoons each week to our neighbours next door, providing useful auxiliary income. It is a splendid space for our Charity nights and corporate entertainment. Does anyone look back with disappointment that we failed to keep our 300 seater “theatre-in-a-tube”? Newcomers to the theatre are amazed that we have this double facility. We are far from unique in the amateur world, but we are justly proud of a very special theatre space, that has given both the members and the general public enormous pleasure over the past 21 years
Michael Shipley
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