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Book specifications:

Published 2001 by Guy Woodland in association with The Life Of series.
Hardback (210x148mm) 112 pp
rrp: ?15
ISBN: 0-9537597-2-5
To purchase contact:-

Richard Spencer
+44 (0) 151 666 1500
e.mail: books@theretoday.co.uk

The Life of Chester Gateway Theatre

With a foreword by David Suchet. The book examines the life and times of this famous and well loved theatre and profiles some of the actors who have walked the boards in this nationally acclaimed venue. This is a memorable book as the theatre will no longer exist in its present state from 2007.

Foreword by David Suchet: "My first professional stage appearance was at Chester Gateway Theatre in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood in 1969. I then spent the 1969/70 season playing numerous roles in both the main and studio theatres including Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Petkoff in Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, Thomas Putnam in Miller's The Crucible and an array of strange characters in The Adventures of Alice!

I returned to the Gateway in 1972 to play in Becket's Waiting for Godot and Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and again in 1975 to play in Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus. I look back at my time at the Gateway with the fondest of memories and hope this book brings back many happy memories for you too."

CHESTER GATEWAY Theatre was conceived in 1961 when the developers of the Forum Centre offered Chester City Council the gift of a 200 seat lecture hall. The city council grabbed the opportunity to acquire a repertory theatre. They doubled its size, upgraded the stage and technical facilities and provided half of the increased cost. Work began in March 1967, the theatre's first director, Julian Oldfield, was appointed in November 1967 and a year later the Gateway opened for business. Over thirty years and 350 productions later this book may remind you of some of the past joys and successes of those years.

Situated in the heart of the historic city of Chester the Gateway Theatre was Cheshire's only producing theatre. It boasted a Main Auditorium which seated 440 people and had a traditional proscenium arch stage. It also had a Studio Theatre, The Manweb Studio, with flexible seating for up to 150 people.

The Gateway produced a range of classics, new plays, re-discoveries and Christmas shows for audiences of all ages living in Chester, Cheshire, North Wales, the Wirral and beyond. The home produced programme was complemented by visits from some of the best national touring theatre companies and the very best in music, dance, literature and comedy.

Many of the actors who started their careers in rep at Chester went on to become household names including John Alderton, James Bolam, Pauline Collins, Sinead Cusack, Patricia Hodge, Geraldine James, Penelope Keith, Matthew Kelly, Bill Nighy, Roshan Seth and Gwen Taylor to name but a few. The Gateway is proud to have been home to some of the country's greatest actors.

There were some big names behind the scenes too - John Caird, Associate Director at the National Theatre and Co-director of Les Miserables was Assistant Stage Manager at the Gateway in the 1960s.

The 'Gateway' is approaching a new stage in its history, the old 'home' is closing and a new home in Chester's planned Performing Arts Centre is on the horizon.