January Joy For The Watermill

In the wake of the sad news concerning the fate of the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden, it is cheering to read in the theatre's January newsletter that the necessary funds have now been raised to save the Watermill Theatre in Newbury. Backed by a loan of £750,000 from the Boris Karloff Foundation, the Board of Directors were able to meet their deadline and commit to purchasing the theatre. In addition, over 2,600 donors assisted in raising £1,77000 in just 18 months. Richard Price, Chairman of the Board, said: "We are hugely grateful to all those generous people who have supported the Save The Watermill appeal." With the future of the theatre secured, the Board's efforts will now be poured into raising the remaining funds needed for essential renovations and improvements to the premises, which will commence in April 2007.

Built upon the site of the historic mill at Bagnor, the Watermill was nurtured by artistic director, the late Jill Fraser, and soon firmly established its place as one of the UK's foremost regional theatres. In the late 1970s under artistic director, David Gilmore, several renowned productions were staged, including Uncle Vanya, Loot, Butley and The Philanthropist. More recently, the Watermill has gained a reputation for excellence in musical theatre through the innovative work of artistic director John Doyle, with such shows as Cabaret, Irma La Douce, The Gondoliers, Piaf, Mack and Mabel and - most notably - Sweeney Todd, which went on to enjoy huge success in the West End and on Broadway, earning Tony awards for Doyle as Best Director and Sarah Travis for her superb orchestrations. In 2006 the tradition was continued by director Craig Revel Horwood and musical director Sarah Travis with an acclaimed production of The Hot Mikado.

The Watermill's 2007 season opens with the vintage Ben Travers farce, "Plunder", directed by Heather Davies - from January 27 to March 3. And upcoming productions include Somerset Maugham's "For Services Rendered" and Jim Cartwright's "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice". Quality theatre seems set to thrive in west Berkshire for some time.