Theatre ensembles in the UK are few and far between. The Dundee Rep Theatre in Scotland has enjoyed considerable success by employing the model, while Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, although lesser known, also has an ensemble. It was a model Alasdair Ramsey, Director of the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke, has always been keen to try.
This Autumn, Ramsey’s dreams are realised as the first productions sprung from Haymarket’s new pilot ensemble will be staged.
Four of the performers will present Kay Mellor’s A Passionate Woman at the Basingstoke Haymarket, while the other half of the ensemble will tour their new adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale to schools and colleges.
The company has also been invited, during a break in the tour, to Berlin by the Carrousel Theatre, a theatre for young audiences.
The ensemble will workshop a production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream with members of the German theatre group, before taking part in a pan European project of classical theatre for young people, the Magic Net Festival.
Meanwhile, another group of Haymarket actors will present a Theatre-in-Education work to primary school children at the Basingstoke Milestones museum, before the whole ensemble comes together to again to prepare for the Christmas production, Alice, A Musical.
‘It’s been a great start to our ensemble project,’ Ramsey enthuses. ‘The addition of the group of actors to our staff for these past few months has really given everyone in the building a new dynamic and focus which I think is beginning to be felt by our audiences as well.’
‘It goes to show that given such a hugely talented and adaptable group of actors and production staff, the potential of the ensemble concept is tremendous.’
Hamish Glen, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Dundee Rep Theatre, couldn’t agree more.
His experiment, launched in 1999, has produced multiple TMA Award nominations over the last four years, including a nomination for Best Touring Play for Chekov’s The Seagull this year.
‘We’ve been nominated four times in the last two years, and I do think it reflects the quality of work that has emerged from a full-time commitment to a group of artists,’ Glen admits.
However, although the model works extremely well for Dundee Rep, Glen concedes it is not the only road to theatrical success.
‘I think that there are certain circumstances that make an ensemble appropriate to Dundee Rep and that those conditions exist elsewhere, so the model could work for other companies. However, I don’t think it is always a necessity that produces better work,’ he concludes.
The ensemble in Basingstoke, established in August of this year, employs seven full-time actors and two apprentices; one actor, one technical.
The ensemble is a six month experiment, explains Haymarket spokesperson Sue Harris, funded by a £30,000 allocated from the company’s increased Arts Council grant.
The apprentice scheme is fully supported by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts who provided £20,000 for nine months.
According to Ramsey, if the pilot is successful the theatre hopes to create a full time company from next Autumn, dependent on funds.
Although ensembles have endless benefits; the ongoing employment of actors, who have the opportunity to work together on a number of performances, is often argued to enhance the quality of productions; but the downside is, such ventures are costly.
Dundee Rep’s ensemble is now in its fourth year, after initially receiving funding for three years. However, the future is increasingly uncertain for the initiative in light of recent standstill funding predictions for drama in Scotland in 2003/04.
For Dundee Rep, Glen says there are only two realistic sources of funding available – from the Scottish Arts Council, who are currently waiting on the Scottish Executive’s announcement of available funds for theatre, and Local Authorities.
‘It is only revenue support that would allow the continuation of the ensemble. You can’t run a project like this on time limited “project” funding,’ Glen says.
However, with £25 million being injected into regional theatres in the UK in 2003, Ramsey’s ensemble just might get lucky.
‘Basingstoke is the first to implement such a scheme in this part of England and we hope that we can emulate the success of the ensemble in Dundee, where audiences have responded wonderfully to their permanent company,’ Ramsey said.
For further information on the Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke, visit www.haymarket.org.uk
To read Hamish Glen’s comments on the state of theatre in Scotland, click here
