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The Independent Theatre (from 1934 The Independent Theatre Ltd) was a dramatic society founded in 1930 by Doris Fitton (1897–1985), and was also the name given to the building it occupied from 1938. It was named for London's Independent Theatre Society founded by J. T. Grein and was one of several amateur drama groups of high standard which sprang up in Sydney, Australia in the 1930s to fill the gap left by the closure of all but two professional theatres (the last spoken-word theatre to close was The Criterion in 1936, leaving only the Tivoli, which ran vaudeville, and the Theatre Royal, which played musicals and ballets). The range of plays essayed was impressive – from classics to avant-garde pieces, from recent West End and Broadway successes (sometimes the Australian premiere) to offerings from local dramatists. The death of Doris Fitton's co-producer Peter Summerton in 1969 put extra strain on her deteriorating health, and with no-one able or willing to fill her shoes, the Independent closed in 1977. It was to reopen in 1998, continuing its tradition as a training ground for young actors and playwrights. ==Venues== Initially, her company rehearsed and played in St James' Hall. From 1931, most performances were given in The Savoy, a small single-floor cinema on Bligh Street, chiefly on Wednesday and Saturday, movies being shown on other nights. For some productions, the much larger Sydney Conservatorium of Music was hired. It would have made an ideal home for the club, but was not available for regular hire. In 1937 Doris came to an arrangement with the Sydney Players' Club that they would share Savoy Saturday nights: five weeks for The Independent and three for the Players. But after the Players' Club had cancelled their lease of St James' Hall, the management of The Savoy evicted them both in order to become purely a cinema.〔("Little Theatres' Plight" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 20 March 1937 p.12 )〕 It had been intended to move to the much larger Palace Theatre, 255(?) Pitt Street, at the end of 1932 (it had been used throughout August 1931 for a particularly popular production), but that never eventuated.〔("Music and Drama" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 24 December 1932 p.4 )〕 (It became a venue for "minnie" golf instead!〔West, John ''Theatre in Australia'' Cassell 1978 ISBN 0-7269-9266-6 p.89〕) The new clubrooms upstairs at 175 Pitt Street served as an occasional performance space from September 1938 to September 1939. In 1938 the company took a two-year lease over the old Criterion (which was originally a cable winding station for the cable trams,〔("Sydney's Early Trams" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 26 December 1942 p.5 )〕 at 269 Miller Street, North Sydney (near Ridge Street), which had been made available by the collapse of the Kursaal Theatre Group.〔("You Can't Take It With You" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 9 January 1939 p.6 )〕 For a time they were running two productions in parallel: at Pitt Street and at their new premises, renamed "The Independent"; by September 1939 the move was complete. The building was owned by North Sydney Coliseum Company, who in 1947 made moves to sell the building. Funds were raised for its purchase.〔("Independent Aims To Buy Theatre" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 28 October 1947 p.9 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Independent Theatre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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