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The Crescent Theatre
Proscenium arch
The Crescent has a history going back to December 1923 when a few City Council employees entertained their colleagues with a Christmas party revue. They discovered, in the words of Noel Coward, that they had "a talent to amuse".
They also had ambition - to raise the funds to acquire their own theatre within a decade. Plans were made at a meeting on 30th January 1924 and the Municipal Players were in business. For the next seven years plays were mounted in the Council House canteen and at the Midland Institute while fund-raising progressed. In 1931 the opportunity came to lease premises at Nos. 17, 18 and 19 The Crescent, together with the derelict Baskerville Hall behind. With bare hands and hired tools the Players converted the decaying buildings into a theatre with raked auditorium, stage, dressing rooms and workshops and this opened with much national and local press publicity in April 1932.
Artistic policy was underlined by the Company’s motto - "Plays of Quality" - and classical drama, foreign and unusual plays, not normally seen in the Midlands, featured in the seasons’ programmes. The company now included members not in the employ of the Council and enjoyed considerable success until the outbreak of war in 1939 when Government restrictions closed theatres. Restrictions were relaxed in 1940 and despite the blackout and air raids the theatre remained open, intending to help the war effort. A decision was taken that the Crescent should become the City’s Garrison Theatre, solely for the entertainment of troops and auxiliary services. Fitting in rehearsals and performances between daily work and voluntary Civil Defence duties, the depleted Company embarked on a programme of revues, comedies and chiller/thrillers until the end of hostilities. In 1946 the theatre was one of the first to join the newly-formed Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, the brainchild of Norman Leaker, founder member and first Crescent Chairman.
The Crescent has a history going back to December 1923 when a few City Council employees entertained their colleagues with a Christmas party revue. They discovered, in the words of Noel Coward, that they had "a talent to amuse".
They also had ambition - to raise the funds to acquire their own theatre within a decade. Plans were made at a meeting on 30th January 1924 and the Municipal Players were in business. For the next seven years plays were mounted in the Council House canteen and at the Midland Institute while fund-raising progressed. In 1931 the opportunity came to lease premises at Nos. 17, 18 and 19 The Crescent, together with the derelict Baskerville Hall behind. With bare hands and hired tools the Players converted the decaying buildings into a theatre with raked auditorium, stage, dressing rooms and workshops and this opened with much national and local press publicity in April 1932.
Artistic policy was underlined by the Company’s motto - "Plays of Quality" - and classical drama, foreign and unusual plays, not normally seen in the Midlands, featured in the seasons’ programmes. The company now included members not in the employ of the Council and enjoyed considerable success until the outbreak of war in 1939 when Government restrictions closed theatres. Restrictions were relaxed in 1940 and despite the blackout and air raids the theatre remained open, intending to help the war effort. A decision was taken that the Crescent should become the City’s Garrison Theatre, solely for the entertainment of troops and auxiliary services. Fitting in rehearsals and performances between daily work and voluntary Civil Defence duties, the depleted Company embarked on a programme of revues, comedies and chiller/thrillers until the end of hostilities. In 1946 the theatre was one of the first to join the newly-formed Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, the brainchild of Norman Leaker, founder member and first Crescent Chairman.
