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The University College Nottingham Dramatic Society (Dramsoc) was formed in 1927 and performed its first play, A.A. Milne's 'Mr Pim passes by' in the following March. The society offered members an opportunity to read, discuss, produce and enact plays. The late 1950s and early 1960s were a golden age for the society. The production of 'Coriolanus' reached the finals of the National Student Drama Competition, and the 'Taming of the Shew' enjoyed a week-long tour of Germany. The society also took George Bernard Shaw's 'St Joan' to the outdoor Minack Theatre in Cornwall. DramSoc was eventually disbanded in the 1980s
At this time, TEC (the Technical Executive Committee of the Students' Union) was organised as a number of Departments, of which SPD (the Stage Productions Department) was responsible for theatre lighting and sound. The SPD Manager of TEC was ex officio Technical Director of Dramsoc, as well as taking responsibility for the electrics at the annual University Opera, performed in the Great Hall of Trent Building.
NTG (the Nottingham Theatre Group) was a separate body, which as far as I recall did not receive grant funding from the Students' Union, whose purpose was to present an annual revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. These shows were developed and previewed in New Theatre. NTG would typically rent a venue in Edinburgh and fit it out as a temporary theatre, sub-letting the space and equipment to other Fringe groups such as Durham Student Theatre or Bristol Revunions. The SPD Manager also served as the Technical Director of NTG.
Student Theatre at the University continued in various forms, increasing through the New Theatre on campus.
Nottingham's Everyman Club was formed in 1958, to encourage students and local people int he city, who were interested in theatre, to collaborate on productions. The club had some notable successes in the 1960s.
The Nottingham New Theatre is a playhouse and production company based on University Park campus, Nottingham, England. It is funded in part by the University of Nottingham Students' Union and constitutes one of the Union's Media Groups. It is the only entirely student-run theatre in England.
The New Theatre has existed in one form or another for about 70 years. The earliest member on our database graduated from the university in 1945, and we have had a solid stream of members for the last 70 years.
The New Theatre was originally housed in the Archaeology and Classics building of the University of Nottingham.In 1966, members of the Technical Committee (responsible for the stage lighting activities and equipment on behalf of the Students' Union), were involved with equipping the theatre. At this point, the New Theatre company had not been formed.
In 2001 an extended foyer was added to the building, following a donation from an alumnus of the University.
Until recently, the New Theatre was contained within the Archaeology and Classics building. The summer of 2012 saw an extensive redevelopment of the building housing the New Theatre. The Archaeology and Classics building was demolished from the site, leaving the New Theatre as its own freestanding building. Parts of the old building were retained, and repurposed as new rehearsal rooms, a studio space, storage rooms and a new constume cupboard. The foyer was also significantly extended.
In 2012 the committee voted to alter the name of the theatre from "The New Theatre" to "The Nottingham New Theatre".
16th November 2013 - IMPACT Fundraising Event held at the New Theatre to launch and promote the sponsor-a-seat campaign. About 50 alumni were in attendance. They were offered a tour around the newly refurbished building, and given a short 20 minute excerpt from this week's show!
16th June 2013 - Special Alumni Performance of Boeing Boeing - A special Matinee performance of Boeing Boeing was put on especially for members of the New Theatre Alumni Network. There were drinks and nibbles served in the foyer, and alumni in attendance had the chance to meet the cast and have a tour of the building.
15th December 2012 - Special Alumni Performance of “The Pillowman” - This was a very exciting time for the New Theatre - particularly with the recently finished refurbishment of the building, and the addition of the brand new foyer and rehearsal spaces. The current members enjoyed being able to show the alumni around the new facilities.