Press Article
Autumn 2009
"We promote amateur theatre, but there is nothing amateurish about the productions..."
LINDA GREEN soaks up the drama at The Headgate Theatre with the "ugly sisters" from last year"s panto, Kevin Topple and David King.
Tucked away in Chapel Street North, right in the heart of Colchester's town centre, you can find one of our community's leading venues for live entertainment-the Headgate Theatre.
Originally built as a Baptist Chapel in 1844, the story of the Headgate Theatre began 23 years ago when a group of local people set up the Theatre Arts Action Trust to try and find a permanent home for amateur theatre. Although the trustees spent many years looking out for a suitable building, they had no success until 1999 when the local council found the chapel. "The council funded the purchase and gave us a 25-year lease," volunteer, director and actor David King told me. "In return, we had to raise the £240,000 needed to convert the derelict venue into a theatre. We secured £90,000 from the Lottery, and £70,000 from the Hervey Benham Trust, and raised the rest ourselves from auctions, fundraising events, donations, old-time musicals and all sorts of other things. We took possession in the autumn of 2000."
In some respects, raising such a huge sum of money was the easy bit. Between September 2001 and March 2002 a team of about 30 volunteers worked flat out to turn their dream into reality. David King, who is also the theatre"s bookings manager, was one of them: "I remember the day we installed the lighting - there was three-and-a-half miles of electric cable that needed to supply 118 points. We had over 20 people feeding the cable off big drums to help run it safely around the building. And it took days for three of us to paint the ceilings, using over 35 litres of paint - I was caked in the stuff for a whole week!"
The Headgate Theatre is now an architectural gem, and an attraction in its own right. The auditorium seats 87 people and is an intimate space that makes members of audience feel as though they are part of the set. The original alter area forms a stunning backdrop for the stage, whilst six of the chapel's listed pillars are utilised in the outer walls. Upstairs is a bar and a lounge area, plus the Hervey Benham Rehearsal Studio, either of which can be hired out separately or used as breakout space for the main theatre.
So what kinds of productions can you see at the Headgate? David is on hand with the answer: "Because the theatre is run by a team of volunteers, our hire rates are low enough for people to come here and do something themselves, whether they're interested in classical music, drama, music, dance, films, pantomimes, comedy or serious productions and presentations. We have amazing drama workshops for young people, which really boost their talents and confidence. We've even had foreign language shows, mind reading evenings, drop-in acoustic sessions, clairvoyants and people showing old black and white movies to soundtracks they'd written themselves. The acoustics here are fantastic. Coming up we have a Chameleon Web Theatre Company production of Hannie Rayson's Life After George, African drum and dance workshops for Black History Month, a production of the incredibly powerful The Long Road (definitely not to be missed) and much more. One of our proudest achievements was the month in which we had 13 different styles of activity - two different types of dance, two different types of film, comedy, drama - you name it, we had it."
Even though the Headgate's productions are put on by amateur companies such as The Colchester Theatre Group or Platform Musicals, you can expect entertainment of the highest quality. "Although we promote amateur theatre there is nothing amateurish about the productions," remarks Kevin Topple, regular performer and owner of KAT Graphics, who is also responsible for designing the theatre's logo and programmes.
David agrees, and sums up what the theatre offers local people. "The Headgate Theatre is run by a 'family' of volunteers," he concludes, "and we go that extra mile to provide a wonderful community space, ready and waiting for anyone in Colchester who wants to use it. We hope Colchester Connected's readers will visit us soon." Anyone interested in volunteering at The Headgate - particularly people with an interest in publicity - can contact Dave at the theatre.
Box Office 01206 366000 www.headgatetheatre.co.uk
