Playbox Theatre Company, UK

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The Playbox Theatre Company are a troupe of actors based in Warwickshire, England the vast majority of whom are young people aged 5-25. They were founded in 1986 and now have over over 1,500 members. The company perform a wide variety of shows offering their young people truly unique opportunities. Playbox offers workshops in: drama, circus, musical theatre, dance and lighting/technical skills.

[edit] History

The company was founded by Mary King, the current director of Playbox. The company began life in a hotel room in 1986. That year they invited English theatre actor Michael Bogdanov to be their patron and he accepted. By 1988 the company were performing in two theatres in Warwick and Kenilworth and a year later they added Balsall Common to their schedule. In 1989 Stewart McGill, husband of Mary King, joined Playbox as a director. 1991 and 1992 saw Stratford upon Avon and Rugby and Leamington Spa added to the list. In 1993 the company produced its first work for national television. In 1994 Playbox reached out further to Coventry and have since moved into buildings in Bristol and York.

1999 saw the opening of Playbox's very own theatre, The Dream Factory, in Warwick following a £2.7 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The theatre has a varying capacity as it is essentially a black box theatre but for safety the maximum is 250. It is available for hire and has a cafe serving meals and snacks.

[edit] On tour

The company has performed throughout the country and further afield. In 1989 they played at the regionally well known, Warwick Arts Centre and the world famous Edinburgh Festival. After Kraków City Council invited them to their city the company visited them. A year later a tour of the USA was staged. Further tours have been taken to these locations, as well as one to Germany, in the years since. Playbox also added Tokyo to their resume in 2007. They visit Santa Monica every two years; this year taking a tour of 'Monkey'.

[edit] Notable Shows

His Dark Materials - Playbox were the first company, after the National to stage Pullman's epic. It starred Olivia Meguer, Calum Finlay and Ed Miller.