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Content Provider (The Show)Comedian Stewart Lee is booked for repeat performances as he signs up as theatre’s patron

By Andrew Ffrench in Oxford Mail Posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2016

HAVE you heard the one about the comedian who became a patron of a theatre to make sure he has somewhere to perform his routines?

Top stand-up comic Stewart Lee has revealed he has now joined a team of patrons to promote Oxford Playhouse in Beaumont Street.

In August, six weeks of building work was completed on an £800,000 refurbishment to the theatre’s auditorium.

New and improved seating was provided, with a powerful sound system and spotlights.

Mr Lee said he was doing a show at the Playhouse when chief executive Louise Chantal asked him to be a a patron.

He added: “I used to go and see things there when I was a student in the 1980s, and I wrote and directed student shows in the Burton Taylor rooms, so I know what a valuable resource it is.

“In my own interest I want to support the Playhouse just so I have somewhere to play in a city I love.

“And it’s run by a woman who I have known for years and has always cared about theatre, not just as a commodity in a business.

“I don’t know what this involves – I have to meet some Playhouse patrons one night for a drink before a show, which will probably be nice anyway.

“I can’t really drink before a show so I will probably get some glasses of the wine and hide them somewhere and drink them afterwards on my own quickly in the toilet.”

Ms Chantal said she was thrilled the comedian has become a patron.

She added: “This demonstrates the breadth of our programme and the wide-range of artists who want to perform in Oxford with Stewart supporting us in this way.

“I first met Stewart on The Oxford Revue when he was a student at St Edmund Hall, and so I’m delighted that he’s marking his patronage with a whole week of performances of his brand new show – a comedy first for the Playhouse.”

Oxford Playhouse was built as a repertory theatre in 1938 – the last new theatre to be constructed before the war.

The repertory years featured a resident company of actors performing a play in the evenings while rehearsing the next during the daytime.

Audiences have had the opportunity to see actors such as John Gielgud, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Ronnie Barker and Dirk Bogarde perform many roles.

Perhaps the most famous production in the theatre’s history was an Oxford University Dramatic Society production of Dr Faustus in 1966.

Student performers shared the stage with film stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Other student actors over the years have included Rowan Atkinson, Michael Palin and Dudley Moore, and more recently Emily Mortimer and Emilia Fox.

The theatre closed due in 1987 due to a lack of funding but directors Hedda Beeby and Tish Francis were appointed to re-open the theatre.

They achieved this in 1991 after a long fundraising campaign and major refurbishment.

Other patrons include Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Rowan Atkinson and Sinead Cusack.

Stewart Lee will be bringing his Content Provider tour to the Playhouse from January 30 to February 4.

Written by Andrew Ffrench in Oxford Mail on 21st December 2016. Filed Under: Content Provider (Show), Interview
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