Garrick Theatre

The Garrick Theatre stands in Stockport, a town in Greater Manchester. It began in 1901 as an amateur company called the Garrick Society, formed after actors tunnelled under a church hall. Their first play, The Merchant of Venice, played in 1902 at the Mechanics Institute. The society soon moved to Wellington Street, where it ran intimate productions not licensed by the Lord Chamberlain. Works by Ibsen and Shaw appeared alongside Shakespeare in these early years. The theatre moved to Exchange Street in 1920, becoming a limited company under Edwin Heys. By the 1930s local writers such as Ross Hills and Percy Corry saw their plays staged here. The Second World War disrupted life, but the Garrick kept performing, even drawing members from Stockport Operatic Society. In 1962 a council road scheme rebuilt the auditorium and added a cantilevered extension over the pavement. Today the Garrick has a bar that doubles as a studio theatre, rebuilt in 2010. Recent seasons include plays by Simon Stephens, Yasmina Reza and Joe Penhall, alongside a thriving Youth Theatre with five groups for around 100 students. The theatre hosted BBC Radio 4’s Mark Steel’s in Town in 2016 and launched a festival of new writing in 2018. Honourary members include Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Wendy Hiller and Dame Ellen Terry.