To mark our 40th anniversary year, Madhia Hussein and Yunique Enim Aduousei from Royal Holloway University worked on a project to unpack our treasure trove of theatrical history and bring our archive to life. Scroll below for the story of the Gate from 1979 to 2019.
A massive thank you to everyone who contributed to this project including Madhia Hussein, Yunique Enim Aduousei, Dan Rebellato, Emma Digby, Aliya Siddique, Clare Nugent and Emma Pritchard.
To celebrate our 40th anniversary, today we start: 40 Years in 40 Weeks!
Here we will unpack our trailblazing history with a weekly release from our archive.
Today, let’s rewind to 1979…
Our 1st Artistic Director, Lou Stein, turned down an assistantship at the National Theatre to create an artistic hub for upcoming artists. For this he needed experienced people. The culture of British fringe at the time was working for nothing, and as a result, practitioners were either not paid or compensated through profit share. And so, he placed an ad in Time Out London and the Gate Theatre was born!
With the focus on producing international plays, the very first was At Swim Two Birds by Irish playwright, Flann O’ Brien. The play reviewed well and the Gate started to get a name for itself – including support from Mick Jagger and John Cleese!
1979: Lou Stein became Artistic Director
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The play was written by group lead, Don Kinch, who later opened the African People’s Theatre in Birmingham.
Gather In Your Name used music, choreography and dance to reflect the inner lives of black people living in Britain and their relationship with Africa and the Caribbean, which was the troupe’s mission throughout their work, performing to mixed audiences throughout Britain.
FUN FACT! Alex Pascall OBE was the musical director on this show, who is known for being one of the developers of Notting Hill Carnival and as one of the first regular Black radio voices in the UK on BBC’s Black Londoners.
He had this to say about his time with this production, ‘productions like Don’s Gather In Your Name, would never have come to the stage without theatres like The Gate, added to this were the anxieties Black audiences had in finding staged plays that related to them culturally. Those were challenging times. I recall a Black cultural exponent arguing with Don about the play and a number of us being concerned, but together we found a way and established common ground for understanding and the play was staged.
It is from such small theatres that today’s playwrights, actors and producers managed to find common ground to establish a presence and the craft of their productions.
Don and Staunch were active in pursing numerous issues to break down barriers within and beyond with challenging presentations, peep through the past decades, and generations of today would realise as they explore routes to the future where we were to inform themselves of today.’
In response to these turbulent times the Gate’s AD, Lou Stein, programmed Treatment by Jonathan Moore, ‘the Johnny Rotten of British Theatre’ (Evening Standard).
Set in south London, Treatment follows Liam who is part of a violent street gang but wants to escape. The Independent called it ‘one of the most disturbing and exhilarating plays in London’
After Treatment’s run at the Gate, it became a BBC film in 1984, starring writer Jonathan Moore as Liam himself.
Since 1979, the Gate has been interested in reflecting the political grassroots movements of the time.
Our 2019 Manifesto for our Future states, ‘Don’t portray the world, change it’. We strive to create relevant work that asks questions about now.
It’s that time of the week again! #40Years40Weeks
Did you know: In 1982 The Gate opened an off-shoot theatre above The Latchmere Pub in Battersea Park! This was London’s first purpose built fringe theatre, called the Gate at the Latchmere.
The first play Lou Stein premiered at the Gate at the Latchmere was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, an adaptation of the book by Hunter S. Thompson. A semi-autobiographical novel, it tells the story of journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr Gonzo chasing the American Dream in Las Vegas through a drug-induced haze. Above is a letter from Lou Stein to writer Hunter S. Thompson pitching his idea for the play.
Hunter S. Thompson famously told Lou Stein, ‘If I don’t like what you’ve done with the book, I’m going to tear your theatre apart.’ You can read about Stein’s experience working with Thompson in his article here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/…/my-time-with-hunter-s-…
Thankfully Hunter S. Thompson did like the show, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was a huge success, later transferring to the West End! In 2014 Lou Stein re-imagined it again for Vault Festival. Below is a copy of the original poster, a production image and an article in Time Out by Fear and Loathing illustrator, Ralph Steadman.
FUN FACT! After the close of the Gate at the Latchmere, it was relaunched in 2002 as Theatre 503!
We start off #BlackHistoryMonth with a dip back into our archive.
Today we celebrate the success of Eugene O’Neill’s play, Emperor Jones, which first graced our stage in 1983, featuring Reggae artist Barry Ford. It tells the story of Brutus Jones, an African American man posing as Emperor of a small Caribbean island after escaping a murder jail sentence. Musicians, TV actors, even a real life witch doctor were brought in to bring Emperor Jones to life. Reggae artist Barry Ford helped create the production’s music and played drums on stage! Barry Ford’s reggae band, Merger, addressed political topics surrounding racial injustice and his addition to the Emperor Jones project was a perfect fit for not only O’Neill’s play but Lou Stein’s vision for it. Ford is still very much involved with his music and mission having performed his ‘Rebel’ Reggae in 2014’s Notting Hill Carnival (which can be watched here: https://youtu.be/QcK-I5ibN1I)
It’s time to dip into the archive again. In 1984, the Gate brought the devastating animation, When The Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman), to the stage.
The story followed elderly couple, Jim and Hilda, whose lives are rocked by a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union.
By adapting this book for the stage, Stein was responding to the fear of nuclear war that was gripping the country.
Below is the prop list for When The Wind Blows.
Today, addressing man’s impact on nature is more important than ever, and we recently pledged in our Manifesto to only use 20% new materials in our productions. This is part of our Green Gate initiative to make work whilst endeavouring to act as responsible global citizens.
1985 said a sad goodbye to Lou Stein and an excited hello to new Artistic Director, Giles Croft.
‘When I first arrived in London in 1982 The Gate was already established as an artistic powerhouse and it was high on my list of theatres at which I wished to work. Within weeks of my taking the post, a fire at Bradford football ground left 56 people dead and 256 injured which led to the closure of the theatre. The hiatus proved to be an opportunity to plan a reopening with a fanfare. The play I decided upon was ‘Danny and the Deep Blue Sea’ by the little known John Patrick Shanley who was to gain international recognition two years later with an Oscar nomination for his screenplay of Moonstruck. The show was a great success and set us off on a course that was to be maintained for the next five years.’
This never before seen extract of the script particularly stands out with its descriptive imagery, invoking the fragility of nature and human brutality, themes prevalent in the work of the Gate.
Although an American play, 1985 saw riots in London and Liverpool which provided a backdrop to characters, Danny and Roberta’s suffering.
1985: Giles Croft became Artistic Director
In 1986 Margaret Thatcher introduced a number of policies that directly impacted the lives of the UK’s female population.
In response, the Gate programmed a set of three female-led plays.
Artistic Director Giles Croft programmed pre-First World War play, ‘How the Vote was Won’, as the first play of the series. It was directed by Tamara Hinchco.
Women’s suffrage had been a predominately a middle class movement, and so the second play of the series, Evelyn Glover’s ‘A Chat with Mrs Chicky’, was chosen as a notable example of working class women speaking for equality which resonated in the 80s.
Last was Inez Benusan’s The Apple, which examined equality in the household and sexual harassment in the workplace.
The last line of the proposal states ‘If written today, perhaps it would have a different, happier ending’, referring to the 1980s Womens Movement.
In the rise of the #MeToo movement last year we are left wondering how the ending would have panned out if written today too.
In 1987 AD, Giles Croft programmed a season of Japanese art and theatre. The season included play readings, films, music and even seminars!
First up were the play readings known as the Modern Noh Plays by Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima. There were mixed reviews on this collaboration but Croft insisted on going forward and the season overall was a highly successful one!
This ‘ambitious and adventurous season’ (Time Out 1987) set in stone the Gate’s international mark on British Theatre, being one of the first theatres in London to stick by international work and programme whole seasons around it!
Here you can see the original proposal for the season, a review in the Evening Standard, and a production image from an old newspaper clipping.
#Gate40
In 1988 the Gate produced Hotel Vietnam by Phil Melling, in commemoration of the end of the Vietnam war. As a scholar in American Literature he focused on the Puritan ideology that he saw crucial to the American mission in Vietnam.
In this letter to AD Giles Croft, scholar Jeff Walsh said the play was one of the most ‘stimulating, lively and well informed’ pieces on the Vietnam War that he had ever seen and requested for the play to be staged at the conference in Manchester Polytechnic.
In this second letter, another American scholar, Warren French, praises the accuracy within the play and congratulates the production’s understanding of the nuances of the war.
The Gate hits double digits as it celebrates its 10th birthday and 10 years of radical, international theatre making!
Here is the original 10th birthday invitation. Croft’s introduction praises the Gate’s success despite cuts to arts funding.
The birthday celebrations took place at the The Tabernacle, which continues to exist as an arts hub.
The highlight of the night saw AD, Giles Croft get the chop in a sponsored haircut!
1990 saw Stephen Daldry take the reins at the Gate for 2 years. During his time as Artistic Director the Gate was awarded an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement for his Spanish Golden Age season.
Daldry’s tenure saw other artists like Katie Michtell, David Farr, Emma Rice, Alex Kingston, Kathy Burke and Laurence Boswell come through the Gate doors.
Daldry asked Boswell to work as Associate Director on the promise that ‘you can do those Spanish Golden Age plays you keep banging on about!’ The partnership won the Gate an Olivier Award.
When Peter Brook visited the Gate in 1990 ‘Stephen Daldry was busy cleaning the loo. For the new Artistic Director, front-of-house skivvying is all in a day’s work.’
One of his first productions was Ödön von Horváth’s Figaro Gets Divorced, teaming up with designer Ian MacNeil, who later went on to win the 2009 Tony Award for the design of Billy Elliot as well as receiving various nominations for his work on An Inspector Calls (1994) and Angels in America (2018).
Figaro Gets Divorced’s set consisted of a wall of broken mirrors used to encompass: a forest; a border patrol office, a jeweller; a hotel; a barber shop; run down lodgings, and even a castle.
Michael Billington’s review for the Guardian called it the ‘best use of small space […] ever seen’, with MacNeil’s efforts being praised also. As part of the Consummate Classics, this season went on to win a Time Out Award!
1990: Stephen Daldry became Artistic Director
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This year saw the Gate’s production of Women of Troy, directed by trailblazing director Katie Mitchell. Having previously worked as an assistant director for the RSC, Women of Troy was ‘pioneering’, and her direction, ‘gentle but incisive’ and a ‘stunning reminder of the potency of drama even across millennia.’ (City Limits Magazine, 1991). From there she went on to direct work at the National Theatre and The Royal Opera House, with highlights including, winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Director and being awarded an OBE.
In her own words, ‘I cut my teeth as a director in your tiny claustrophobic room, memories of painting walls, planting trees, being welcomed, nurtured, radicalised by the artistic powerhouse that you are.’
Women of Troy starred another familiar face, Emma Rice OBE, formerly Artistic Director of the Globe Theatre. She was the Standard Issue Magazine Woman of the Year 2016. Her performance in Women of Troy was praised across the reviews, and was said to have ‘fearsome intensity’.
1992 saw Laurence Boswell take over as AD. He reimagined the Gate’s international focus towards playwrights from across the globe, moving away from the big European classics that Stephen Daldry had focused on.
The Crackwalker by Judith Thompson, known as the ‘horrifying comedy about Ontario’s urban underclass’, portrays the social breakdown of the Canadian working class. It came to the Gate at the same time that workplace regulations were put in place in the UK and were the talk of the nation in 1992.
The Crackwalker stared BAFTA nominated Kathy Burke, early in her career, who then went on to star on screen in the famous Absolutely Fabulous and in Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth (1994).
1992: Laurence Boswell became Artistic Director
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Did you know Jude Law performed at the Gate in 1993?
Early on in his career, he performed in Joseph Pintauro’s Snow Orchid, playing the role of Blaise.
This was London Gay Theatre Company’s last ever show, director Tim Luscombe writes how ‘the company had contributed to gay plays being seen as commercially viable and schedulable, and thus it had achieved and outrun its purpose.’
Luscombe also praised the production saying it ‘exploded out of the little space of the Gate Theatre and consolidated the reputation of the London Gay Theatre Company.’
Lets take a look back at the UK premiere of Carol Goldoni’s His Lordship’s Fancy featuring the brilliant Sophie Okonedo! The Independent described the show as ‘a serious comedy. What it shows is the transformation of a pack of provincial clowns into an instrument of formidable power when their civic rights are threatened.’ (1994) From this Sophie Okonedo went on to be trailblazing in her acting career, receiving a Tony Award and nominations for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Hotel Rwanda. She has also received the OBE and CBE for her work.
1995 saw the Gate’s ‘most ambitious project to date.’ Sticking with Boswell’s vision to do ‘big plays with big themes’ he programmed a three play cycle called Agamemnon’s Children, consisting of Electra, Orestes and Iphegenia in Tauris. These ancient Greek plays were described as ‘intense and wittily thoughtful’ and as a trilogy was said to give a ‘”prismatic” perspective on the mythic story.’ Read the full Independent review here.
Lawrence Boswell said this epic trilogy ‘sold out before it opened and people fought, literally, to get in! The Gate was a place where young theatre makers worked together collectively, learn the trade and work on an exciting repertoire.’
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In 1996 David Farr took the AD reigns, his run saw the incredible Sarah Kane’s world premiere of ‘sell-out hit’, Phaedra’s Love. Notably her second ever play and directorial debut, she went on to be one of the biggest British directors for the decade.
Phaedra’s Love explores the ‘brutal nature of love, social relations, nihilism and belief through the example of an affair between a queen and her stepson.’
He sold the idea of the play to Kane as a ‘safe place to do her second play. She could be protected – we’d protect her.’ ‘Entering her rehearsal room was like walking into a religion. Every actor was utterly consumed in their individual act of faith.’
1996: David Farr became Artistic Director
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The year is 1997 and the play…Woyzeck, directed by the radical Sarah Kane!
The intensity of this show was said to stand out because of the intimacy of the Gate’s 75 seater. Known as Kane’s ‘most expressive work’, Woyzeck was both far flung and ambitious and goes down in Gate history!
Mick Gordon became Artistic Director of the Gate in 1998. The theme for his first season, ‘A Home for the Exiles’, was to ‘explore the notion of exile from the cultural, political, social and personal point of view.’ He set this up as the Gate’s approach to theatre for years to come.
Brian Friel’s ‘Volunteers’ was programmed at the Gate as the theatre’s small size allowed the creative team to ‘react quickly to major political or social events and contribute to the debates surrounding them.’
This production showcased the Gate’s brilliant use of space and design. Liz Cooke transformed the space into an archaeological dig. It was important for Gordon that people would come to the Gate and not recognise it, placing emphasis on transformational capability. Above is one of Cooke’s original drawings for the props in the play.
1998: Mick Gordon became Artistic Director
1999 saw major accessibility changes within the theatre industry. The Gate collaborated with Turtle Key Arts for Deaf and Disabled Young People on the show Marathon, by Edoardo Erba.
This was the Gate’s first signed show. The interpreter was placed between the two actors on stage, rather than in the corner, and this was said to be refreshing and ‘made the play even more involving, easy to follow and emotional.’
Marathon set precedent for accessibility at the Gate, with Jonathon Lloyd, a young deaf designer working on the set design for the show. Genny Fillery, from Turtle Key’s Apprenticeship programme, also worked on the press and marketing.
Today, the Gate Theatre holds an Audio Described night and Captioned night for every production in their season, including a post-show talk. To find out more about our accessibility policies, take a look at our accessibility page.
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We have hit the millennium! 2000 saw Mick Gordon’s 5 play season ‘Remembering the Future.’ In an interview with Michael Billington, Gordon describes the Gate as a ‘stupid room above a pub that does magic!’
The third play in this season was the Italian play, Cuckoos, directed by the late, great Sir Peter Hall. This black comedy follows the story of 3 adults discovering their futures.
FUN FACT: The play featured Olivier Award nominee, Kelly Hunter and British actor, Paul Ready, known for the BBC hit series, The Bodyguard.
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In 2001 Erica Whyman was appointed the first female Artistic Director of the Gate!
She describes ‘taking on a theatre with a reputation and a history. It keeps me awake at night, but it’s thrilling too. I love it. It’s a theatre that feels like a family.’
Her stand out season ‘are you…?’ explored madness and what it means to be ‘sane’. See images below.
The season started with A Box of Bananas, directed by Whyman. This set the bar for the entire season as it went in depth into the boundaries between sanity and insanity. The show was completely devised by the company from texts and their own stories.
Secondly, Life With An Idiot, adapted from a short story by Russian writer, Victor Erofeyev, focuses on the notion that madness is not communist but consumerist. The play echoed common thoughts of society at the time, ‘the madness of corporations invades our lives’.
Last in the trilogy was Murder by Israeli playwright, Hanoch Levin. Known as ‘Israel’s most admired 20th Century playwright,’ this show kept in line with the political theme with an ‘honest and brutal depiction of the conflict between Jews and Arabs.’
2001: Erica Whyman became Artistic Director
2002… the palindrome year!
And the year Death and the Ploughman by German playwright Michael West was staged. Directed by Deborah Bruce, British Theatre Guide said it was “a fascinatingly staged production, unlike anything else on the London Stage.”
This play consisted of 34 two-minute chapter style segments. It was written as a reaction to the death of the playwright Johannes von Saaz’s wife and centres around death from different angles whilst connecting with past selves.
In Bruce’s production, ‘death’ was personified and played by 3 performers, an old man (Tim Barlow), a young charmer (Ben Nealon – Soldier Solider) and a pregnant woman (Madeleine Bowyer).
One highlight of 2003 was Flu Season, directed by Erica Whyman. The show was described by Lyn Gardner as “stingily funny and really rather beautiful in a wonderful, abrasive little production that sees director Erica Whyman on top form.”
The play, originally by Will Eno, deconstructs the ‘typical love story’ with a dark, comedic tone. See the famous opening monologue featured in the pictures!
The play opened Whyman’s final season, ‘Broken’, which focused around the uncertainty of life – something that feels even more resonant as we write this in 2020.
