Celebrating 30 Years of Next Stage Theatre Company
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The time is finally here - this month Next Stage Theatre Company turns 30 years old, and we could not be more proud of this tremendous milestone. As we celebrate this achievement and look forward to many more years of operation, we also recognize that it’s a perfect time to look back on the rich history of the company and acknowledge many of the huge achievements that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our actors, patrons and directors.
1994: Ann Ellison BEM starts up Next Stage Theatre Company with just 10 members. On Wednesday 18th May 1994, this small collective opened Willy Russell’s Educating Rita at The Rondo Theatre - and from there never looked back.
In September of the same year, Next Stage Youth, the company’s youth acting group for 11 - 18 year olds, began its first year of operation and, in 1995, performed in “Oh! Brave New World” an open-air show programmed as part of The Bath International Music Festival.
Ann Ellison with keith Michell in 1990
1995 saw the company’s first patron - Keith Michell, an Emmy Award winning actor, singer and artist as well as Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre - supporting the work of Next Stage. Keith stayed in touch with Artistic Director Ann Ellison for many years and even provided the original artwork for the publicity of Next Stage’s production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good (1996).
1998: Next Stage toured to the Minack Theatre, Cornwall for the very first time with Sisterly Feelings. This would be the beginning of a special relationship Next Stage would come to build with the Minack, returning to tour shows every 2 years.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Ann Ellison and Sir David Hare in 2000 at Stephen Joseph Theatre
1999: Sir Alan Ayckbourn became Next Stage’s second patron and invited the company to the Stephen Joseph Theatre to perform David Hare’s Skylight.
In 2000 the company would return to the SJT with Blue Remembered Hills. Later that year Sir David Hare became a patron of the company.
2001: The Royal Hunt of the Sun wins high-acclaim at The Minack Theatre, which is when Next Stage was invited to perform at this world-famous theatre on a biannual schedule.
The Mission Theatre
2001: Dame Harriet Walter, known for her work on stage and TV becomes Next Stage’s first female patron.
2004: In its 10th year, Next Stage Theatre Company acquires the lease of a derelict Grade II listed chapel in Corn Street Bath and creates The Mission Theatre, opening on January 24th 2005.
2007: Next Stage tours His Dark Materials Parts 1&2 to the Minack Theatre. In a meeting with Nick Hytner a few years ago he commented to Ann that she’d taken on quite a challenge with this project!
The cast and crew of “Intimate Exchanges” at the Workshop Theatre, New York.
2008: Next Stage Theatre Company tours to The Mid-Town Festival at The Workshop Theatre in New York with Alan Ayckbourn’s Intimate Exchanges. Kay Francksen and Andrew Ellison play all the characters and Andrew wins Best Actor Off Off Off Broadway.
2008: Next Stage’s production of Festen was the first to be staged in-the-round and international producer Marla Rubin comes to see it on the final night at The Mission Theatre.
2009: Having been spotted by scout in New York, Next Stage is invited to tour to the Jermyn Street Theatre in London’s West End with Torch Song Trilogy.
2012: Next Stage Theatre Company become the first non-professional company to stage Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem a week after Mark Rylance’s version closed in London’s West End. The show was so popular the company staged a second run of it later the same year and will revive it again in January 2025 to celebrate The Mission Theatre’s 20th Birthday.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn making the closing speech at Next stage’s roman baths reception in 2014
2014: On the company’s 20th anniversary, Sir Alan and Lady Ayckbourn came to Bath to watch both House and Garden performed simultaneously as The Mission Theatre by Next Stage, followed by a reception at the Roman Baths in Bath.
2015: Ann Ellison awarded the British Empire Medal for Services to Theatre in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.
2019: Robert Lindsay, actor for stage and TV, becomes Next Stage’s Silver Anniversary patron.
2021: Next Stage Theatre Company achieves a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) of The Mission Theatre ensuring its future for the following 99 years.
2022: Next Stage Theatre Company opens Burdall’s Yard in Bath as a performing arts venue and community hub.
Next Stage Youth in West Side Story (2023)
2023: Next Stage Youth bring West Side Story, Next Stage’s first full-length musical, to The Mission Theatre and the show sells out.
2024: On May 18th Next Stage Theatre Company will celebrate 30 Years of bringing high-quality theatre, plus 2 performance venues to the city of Bath. The company are delighted to be staging the Bath premiere of The Girl Next Door by patron Alan Ayckbourn.
Ann Ellison says: “Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the journey Next Stage has been on since I started the company in 1994. Then I had just 12 actors and directed the 2-hander Educating Rita. Many hundreds of actors and youthers later and the dream I had of producing 20th and 21st century plays in exciting and innovative stagings – usually in-the-round – has brought international recognition to the company. I would never have imagined directing nearly 200 shows for Next Stage since 1994. The company is still largely run by volunteers and has flourished thanks in no small part to the generous support of local patrons and the unstinting work of our brilliant volunteers.”
So happy 30th Birthday Next Stage! We hope as many of you as possible will join us to celebrate from Tuesday 14th - Saturday 18th May to see The Girl Next Door at The Mission Theatre, we’d be delighted to have you there with us.
Book your tickets for The Girl Next Door here.
