David Conville

David Conville joined the theatre in 1962, and alongside David William, established The New Shakespeare Company as a non-profit distributing charitable company. The theatre grew from strength to strength over the next 25 years. Shakespeare productions included Othello with Robert Stephens and Edward Fox as Othello and Iago, The Taming of the Shrew with Jeremy Irons and Zoe Wanamaker, and a young Ralph Fiennes as Romeo. Many of these productions toured nationally at the close of each season. The repertoire also extended beyond Shakespeare and included plays such as Cyrano de Bergerac, a hugely popular presentation of Anouilh’s Ring Around The Moon and numerous productions of Shaw. In 1975 park chairs arrayed on the sloping grass banks were replaced by a proper auditorium with tiered seating, and on 12 July, 1982 Her Majesty The Queen attended a Golden Jubilee performance. Conville was succeeded by Ian Talbot in 1987.