The COMPANY of PLAYERS

A History of The Company

The Little Theatre stage

For much of the sixties, the Company performed at St.Nicholas Hall in St.Andrews Street, Hertford.
However, facilities here were limited and not entirely suitable for dramatic use, with dry rot finally forcing the Company to seek alternative premises.

It was around this time that Christ Church in Port Vale was closed, following its amalgamation with Holy Trinity. Behind the church stood an old schoolhouse, bordering Balfour Street and the disused railway that linked Hertford's two railway stations.

As soon as the Company heard of these premises, a committee was formed, made up of Jim Mitchell, Richard Hitch and Bill Corfield. These three men were well qualified for such a task, Jim Mitchell being a bank manager, Richard Hitch a Chartered Architect, and Bill Corfield a Chartered Surveyor and Valuer.

The Church Commissioners planned to demolish the buildings and sell the vacant ground, but following discussions with the Company, a quarterly tenancy on the schoolhouse was agreed from January 1969. During the summer, a temporary stage was erected and in December the first play was presented in Balfour Street, Tilly of Bloomesbury by Ian Hay.

Christ Church

Following demolition of the church and letting of the schoolhouse, the land and school were put out to tender. As a note of interest, the schoolhouse was given to the church by Mr.Robert Hanbury, of Poles, Ware, and erected in 1868.

In the months that followed, Jim Mitchell managed to obtain an interest free loan of £20,000, and the Company was able to make a successful tender for the school and land. The purchase was finalised in February 1972.

The special committee, together with Bill Wells, set up a trust. Plans were then produced by Richard Hitch and planning permission obtained for terraced housing on the vacant land between the theatre and Port Vale. Bill Corfield then found a developer for the land, which was then sold with the benefit of planning permission, netting the Company a profit on it's initial outlay of £20,000.

During this period, further improvements were made to the theatre, including raked seating, a kitchen, the provision of storage space and painting of the exterior. In addition, a technical box was constructed for use by the lighting and sound crews. Due to the prohibitive costs of creating a venue suitable for public performances, the theatre can be used only by members of The Company and their guests.

The Auditorium

At this time, the Company became the only local theatre group in the town with it's own premises, a valuable commodity as there are no overheads for using rehearsal or performance space. The Company was now fully independent and continued with productions such as "The Judge" by John Mortimer, "The First Night Of Pygmalion" by Richard Huggett, and "The Irregular Verb To Love" by Hugh and Margaret Williams.

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