London Theatres List
London Shows List
Cheapest London Theatre tickets
London Theatre breaks
|
     Donmar Warehouse Theatre - Information & History
The Donmar Warehouse Theatre is one of London's forward most producing theatre 'not for profit' venue which is located in the heart of theatre land in the West End. The Donmar theatre occupies a building that was originally constructed in 1870 and used as a vat room and hop warehouse [hence the name] for a local small brewery in Covent Garden. The Donmar is small with a seating capacity of only 250.
The name Donmar was derived from the theatre impresario Sir Donald Albery who purchased the theatre in 1961. He converted it into a private rehearsal studio for the London Festival Ballet, a company which he formed with his close friend and ballet super star Dame Margot Fonteyn. The combination of Don from Donald and Mar from Margot created the name Donmar.
Let's look at a brief history of events for the theatre.
The building occupied by the Donmar theatre in the 1920's was originally used as a film studio, after which time it was taken over by the Covent Garden Market banana ripening depot, and for many years it remained in the use by Covent Garden company.
It continued to be used for the banana business until 1961 when the building was acquired by Sir Donald Albery and Dame Margot Fonteyn who converted the building to become the Theatre and rehearsal studio for the London Festival Ballet Company.
In 1977 to 81 the Donmar Theatre was adopted by the Royal Shakespeare Company as its London home to add to its Stratford venue, after which time the Donmar, under the artistic management of Ian Albery, Sir Donald's Son, and Nica Barns, became the home for many of Britain's innovative touring companies up to 1989.
The Donmar was then acquired by Associated Capital Theatre Company with the intentions to redevelop the Theatre. In 1990 the Donmar was under the artistic direction of Sam Mendes who was invited to present eight month seasons of locally produced theatrical works.
The Donmar benefited greatly from the artistic direction of another great impresario, namely Michael Grandage, who presented some of the Theatres most memorable and award winning productions at the Donmar. The Donmar engendered a policy of diverse and open artistic acceptance to include new plays and re-writes of both contemporary European classics as well as British and American dramas.
The Donmar has gained critical acclaim within the UK and abroad, and over the past decade the Donmar has created a reputation of theatrical excellence and has displayed a wealth of talented creative artists. Since 1992 The Donmar has received no less than 27 Olivier Awards, 9 Evening Standard Awards, as well as 12 Tony awards from 8 Broadway productions and 17 Critic's Circle Awards.
More recently, the Donmar was taken over by the Ambassador Theatre Group and in 1992 Same Mendes supervised a redesign of the Donmar. The Donmar still retains is distinctive warehouse characteristics and the forward projecting stage, whilst adding 2 new bars and significant improvements backstage as well.
In 2002 Michael Grandage succeeded from Same Mendes as the Artistic Director and Nick Frankfort succeeded as Executive Producer over Caro Newling. By 2004 the Donmar Warehouse Theatre had commenced with a national touring programme with Tom Stoppard's new version of Henry IV and other national tours of works by Neil Labute and Mark Ravenhill.
2005 saw the first collaboration of the Donmar productions outside of Covent Garden with another West End production of 'Guys and Dolls'.
Donmar Warehouse Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
|
|
