New theatre plans winter season before transformation

The theatre company behind a project to create a new venue in a 17th Century barn plans to temporarily perform in the space before it is converted.

OVO has permission to turn the derelict Grade II listed St Germain's Barn in St Albans, Hertfordshire, which dates back to1649, into a cultural hub with a new repertory company to encourage young and emerging talent.

The project is supported by British actors Ralph Fiennes, Dame Joanna Lumley, Brian Cox and Zoe Wanamaker, who the company said had been "very supportive".

Adam Nichols, the company's artistic director, said: "We're hoping to open in October and programme a season over the winter before we do any of the major work... I think there will be a certain interest [and] intrigue in coming into the building before it's been refurbished."

The Hertfordshire venue, which sits near Verulamium Park, will then close before reopening fully converted, hopefully later in 2027, he said.

It will include a cafe and bar next door to the main venue, above which will be bedrooms to house actors during their contracts.

"Visually it's probably not going to be that different," Nichols said, "we're going to keep all of the lovely features and exposed wood so when people come in for the first time before we do the work, they will get the full experience in terms of what it's going to look and feel like."

The autumn productions have still to be finalised but Nichols said the output would be "aligned with what we've always done which is reimagined classics done in innovative ways".

The company currently uses the studio theatre in the Maltings Arts Theatre and has an annual summer season at the Roman Theatre in Verulamium, where this year it has assembled a repertory company.

This is due to be replicated in the new venue as the project will be based on the "rep" theatre model, which aims to bring long-term employment to theatre creatives with a year-round programme.

Nichols, who worked in youth and education before turning to theatre full-time, said the current structure of the theatre industry makes it "really difficult for people from less well-off backgrounds to build a career".

"The industry is very unpredictable with very short-term contracts," he said, "if you don't have the means, it's very difficult and that has led to a real decline in the diversity of the kind of people who are able to work in the industry."

Nichols said the group wanted to create a model where performers had much longer-term contracts than usual, would be housed and essentially given an apprenticeship and "the opportunity to really hone their craft".

"Even people who have been to drama school often struggle to actually practice because jobs are few and far between," he said, "so being employed here for a year, being in 10 productions and working alongside other more experienced actors, we think is really important and really needed."

Nichols added there was also a place for a "high quality producing theatre" in the area as most local professional venues bring in productions as opposed to creating shows.

"Creating work here will have a strong local flavour both in terms of people you see on the stage and behind the scenes, and will also bring in people from other parts of the country - we think that's going to be exciting and beneficial."

The project patrons - Fiennes, Lumley, Cox and Wanamaker - were recruited by OVO chairman and former actor, Kiffer Weisselberg, who said their involvement had shown people they were "serious" about the project.

"Many I had not seen for years," Weisselberg said, "but when I contacted them to say what we were doing they immediately said 'yes'.

"They've been very supportive and I think there's no doubt that having those names has made everyone sit up."

As such, nearly £1m of the £1.2m needed for the project has already been raised with a third of the figure coming from mainly local investors.

About another third of the funding is from the government's Community Ownership Fund with another from the Architectural Heritage Fund which specialises in helping to bring disused buildings back to life.

But Nichols said they planned to keep the renovation simple.

"We know that the productions we produce will animate the space, it will be comfortable and beautiful but it doesn't need all the bells and whistles," he said.

Weisselberg added: "Very often less is more in creative terms and audiences are very happy to use their imagination.

"The barn has great potential in terms of development, [but to start with] we just need to do the bare minimum, get people in and get people excited about what we're doing."

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.