About the Company

The production company was formed in 1992. The first play presented on a long national tour was Stageland, a dramatisation of two books by Jerome K.Jerome about his comical experiences as an actor on the Victorian stage, with Trevor Bannister as Jerome

Also in 1993 there began an ongoing series of Bernard Shaw productions, in conjunction with the National Trust, at their Shaw museum, Shaw's Corner, Ayot St.Lawrence. So far Don Juan in Hell - Too True to be Good - You Never Can Tell - Mrs Warren's Profession - Heartbreak House - Pygmalion - Major Barbara - Overruled - Man and Superman - Arms and the Man - Saint Joan - The Apple Cart - The Devil's Disciple - Misalliance and Candida have been presented there and on National Tours. In 2006 the first complete performances for many years of Back to Methuselah were given. Too True to be Good visited the Labyrint Theatre in Prague in 1994 giving the Czech premiere of this Shaw work.

There have been tours of The Importance of Being Earnest, Rookery Nook Charley's Aunt, and The Miser, new adaptations of Cold Comfort Farm, and What Maisie Knew, and the premieres of Lear's Fool, The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth, and People in Cages by David Henry Wilson, Shaw Cornered by Robert Shearman Game Pie and Cock of the Walk by Feydeau and The Turnabout by Lewis Dixon.

2005 saw the inauguration of a Summer Rep season at the Theatre Royal, Margate with a programme of plays consisting of Private Lives, Wait Until Dark, and Intimate Exchanges. In 2006 the programme was Blithe Spirit, Game Plan and We're Strangers Here.

SINCE ITS FORMATION IN 1992 MICHAEL FRIEND PRODUCTIONS HAS PRESENTED PLAYS AT THE FOLLOWING VENUES:

AYOT ST.LAWRENCE - Shaw's Corner

BRADFORD - Priestley Arts Centre

BRIGHTON - Theatre Royal

BRISTOL - Redgrave Theatre

BROADSTAIRS - Memorial Theatre

BROMLEY - Little Theatre

BUXTON - Opera House

CANTERBURY - Gulbenkian Theatre

CANTERBURY - Marlowe Theatre

CARSHALTON - Charles Cryer Theatre

CHELMSFORD - Civic Theatre

CHESTERFIELD - Pomegranate Theatre

CHIPPING NORTON - The Theatre

COCKERMOUTH - Kirkgate Arts Centre

CONSETT - Empire Theatre

CROYDON - Ashcroft Theatre

DOUGLAS - Gaiety Theatre

DUNDEE - Repertory Theatre

EASTBOURNE - Devonshire Park Theatre

FARNHAM - Redgrave Theatre

GUILDFORD - Yvonne Arnaud - Main House and Mill Studio

HAYES - Beck Theatre

HAYWARDS HEATH - Platform Theatre

HORSHAM - Christ's Hospital Theatre

ILFRACOMBE - Landmark Theatre

LEATHERHEAD - Casson Room

LONDON - The Cochrane Theatre

LONDON - Jermyn Street Theatre

LONDON - Pentameters Theatre

LONDON - Shaw Theatre

LONDON - Theatre Museum

LONDON - Union Theatre

MAIDSTONE - Hazlitt Theatre

MARGATE - Theatre Royal

MIDDLESBROUGH - Hexagon Theatre and Middlesbrough Theatre

NEWCASTLE - New Tyne Theatre and Opera House

NEW ROMNEY - Southlands Theatre

NORTHAMPTON - Royal Theatre

PETERBOROUGH - Key Theatre

PRAGUE - Labyrint Theatre

RICHMOND - Georgian Theatre Royal

SOUTHSEA - Kings Theatre

STAMFORD - Arts Centre

SUDBURY - Quay Theatre

SWINDON - Wyvern Theatre

TAUNTON - Brewhouse Theatre

THAMES DITTON - Vera Fletcher Hall

TORQUAY - Princess Theatre

TORQUAY - Cockington Court

TUNBRIDGE-WELLS - Trinity Arts Centre & Theatre

WALTON ON THAMES - Riverhouse Barn

WESTCLIFF - Palace Theatre

WIMBLEDON - Studio Theatre

WIMBORNE - Layard Theatre

WORTHING - Connaught Theatre

YORK - Grand Opera House

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