New Victoria Theatre

In the early 1960s, Stephen Joseph was searching for a permanent base for his Studio Theatre company which specialised in theatrical productions in the round. He found it in a disused cinema in Hartshill which was converted for theatrical use and opened as a playhouse on 9 October 1962. The first resident director was Peter Cheeseman who remained in control for 36 years, bar a period in 1967–68 when he was temporarily replaced by the management. The company soon established a reputation for innovative productions of both new and classic works. A particular focus was on plays with a local subject, such as The Knotty, about the North Staffordshire Railway, The Fight for Shelton Bar, about the…