Heavyweight Shakespearean actor's huge influence on north east theatre

Stephen Kemble was a member of the Shakespearean acting dynasty the Kembles - which included his sister Sarah Siddons – who went on to become a highly successful Northern theatre manager of the eighteenth century English stage.

His most famous acting role was in the part of the rotund Falstaff – for which he reportedly needed no padding as he apparently weighed 30 stone. He received acclaim in the role from the main London theatres of the day, but his heart lay in the Northern theatres, and he ran a Northern circuit from Newcastle’s Theatre Royal for a good 15 years, from 1791 to 1806.

These theatres included Alnwick, Stockton, Sunderland and North Shields, from where he supported the careers of rising stars of the time, many of whom had made their name acting Shakespeare such as his wife, the actress Elizabeth Satchell; Master Betty and Edmund Kean.

The Theatre Royal in Newcastle was awarded a royal patent by George III in 1787 and opened the following year with a performance of Shakespeare’s 'The Merchant of Venice'.

Kemble joined as manager a couple of years later and under his stewardship it quickly established itself as one of the country’s most prestigious theatres.

Kemble managed a dizzying array of smaller provincial theatres in his time – from Edinburgh, to Chester to Portsmouth.

The original Theatre Royal closed and was demolished to make way for the redevelopment of the city centre. If found a new home in Grey Street in 1837, long after Kemble’s death.

It still stands today of course, although having been completely refurbished inside following a major fire in 1899.

Stockton’s Georgian Theatre is the oldest Georgian provincial theatre in the country and a grade II listed building.

From its beginnings as a sixteenth century barn it became a theatre in 1766.

In 1798, Stephen Kemble took it on. Like Shakespeare, Kemble was an actor manager and his last performance on the stage of the Stockton, which became known as Oxford Road Playhouse, was in 1815. Fittingly, he signed off on his stewardship with his famous portrayal of Falstaff.

He died in 1822 aged 64 and is buried at Durham Cathedral.

From Kemble’s time onwards many famous artistes from London theatres, such as Drury Lane and the Lyceum, appeared in performances of Shakespeare and musical comedy. It is said that Junius Booth, the father of Wilkes Booth who was to assassinate President Lincoln, played with great success, as did Mrs Jordan, who was the mistress of the Duke of Clarence who later became King William IV.

By 1858 the appearances by big London stars had dwindled and the building was turned into a music hall.

It opened as the Theatre Royal in 1866 but closed less than a decade later. Gradually the building deteriorated until Stockton Council bought it for around £14,000.

The theatre was reborn as a community space, an event marked by the plaque on the outside of the building bearing the words ‘This stone commemorates the re-opening of the Georgian Theatre. Originally opened in 1766. Re-opened by Councilor Jim Cooke, Mayor. 29 April 1980'.

Today the building is managed by the Tees Music Alliance as a music and performance venue.