10 years of cut to the chase… in 2008
the queen’s theatre’s professional resident company
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As we proudly celebrate the 10th birthday of our resident company cut to the chase…, the Queen’s Artistic Director Bob Carlton shares his thoughts and memories about this unique ensemble and how it all started.

Bob Carlton, Artistic Director

For a whole decade, audiences have enjoyed a vibrant and varied array of entertainment from cut to the chase…, the UK’s only resident ensemble of actor-musicians, housed at the Queen’s Theatre. Playing to packed houses, this multi-talented group has grown from strength to strength, presenting a variety of theatre from musicals and comedy to Shakespeare and pantomime. cut to the chase… was established in 1998 by Artistic Director Bob Carlton, who had a vision of a professional theatre company at the heart of the community.

“I set up cut to the chase… to try and give the Queen’s a specific identity within the community and because I believe in ensemble theatre,” he says.

As an ensemble, cut to the chase… is made up of a permanent group of actor-musicians based at the Queen’s who appear in shows throughout the season. It is one of the few repertory companies left in the country, contrasting with today’s widespread method of theatres hosting productions performed by touring companies.

Aladdin (1999): Anthony Psaila and Matt Devitt

cut to the chase… is based on the traditional repertory system, whereby company members rehearse the next play by day and perform the current production in the evening. In fact, the Queen’s was running a repertory company called the Queen’s Players when it first started out back in 1953 from its original site in Station Lane. And in many ways, cut to the chase… is a return to this format.

cut to the chase… presents eight Main House shows each year and company members also appear in four Queen’s Theatre-in-Education productions, which tour schools throughout East London and Essex.

"There are many rewards gained from running an ensemble such as cut to the chase…", explains Bob. "One big advantage is that rehearsals and preparations for productions run much more smoothly because, having worked together before, company members are comfortable with each other and know one another’s way of working."

"It also means the actors grow and learn off each other,” he adds “no one can fall back into old tricks as their colleagues and the audience have seen it all before.”

Another important benefit is the local audience becoming familiar with and growing fond of regular performers they watch year after year. Some have even come to affectionately regard them as local celebrities.

Phantom of the Opera (1998): Nina Lucking, Chris MacDonnell and Steve Edwin

Bob says: “We have created a house style which people trust. The audience tends to know the actors. They like that because they get to watch them progress and play different parts - they regard them as theirs."

Being linked to one theatre instills a strong sense of loyalty in actors and dedication to the roles they take on as well as the chance to really understand their audience.

The name cut to the chase… was chosen because it reflected the no-nonsense approach to entertainment which characterises the Queen’s repertoire. “It’s about not being dull and getting straight to the point!” he beams.

Being part of a repertory ensemble is also not without its challenges. One test members face is having to play a variety of roles within a relatively short space of time.

“An actor may be able to do a certain part standing on their head but for another might be a bit of a stretch, but they have to make it right,” says Bob. “However, this system stretches and develops actors in a way that modern models of theatre don’t.

“The Queen’s is also one of the few theatres in the UK to produce all its own Main House shows – this allows us to choose exactly what we want and what our audience wants rather than having to select from a stock of commercial productions.”

But above everything else, cut to the chase… is unique because it is the only ensemble in the country in which each member is also a talented musician – they can all sing and play at least two musical instruments.

In fact, the very concept of actor-musicianship is relatively new. And remarkably, it is Bob himself who raised the profile of this performance model, kick-starting its current expansion in theatres across the country, through his production of Return to the Forbidden Planet in the 1980s.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2003): Dmitri Van Zwanenberg, Jo Drake, Carol Sloman, Matt Devitt, Ezme Gaze and Edward Bruggemeyer

“The audience stamped and cheered their approval”
The Independent

“Real panache and winning charm”
The Guardian

The main reason behind identifying this new prerequisite, reveals Bob, was his recognition of music as a potentially crucial tool for converting people into theatre fans.

“Viewers have a different level of respect for musicians,” he says, “and they are an excellent vehicle for reeling people in. The Queen’s is a populist theatre and music is a popular form of entertainment,” he stresses.

As a result, the range of performances at the Queen’s has diversified, thanks to a multi-talented company able to perform plays as well as musical theatre. Music is an important way of expressing and heightening drama in any production – and the presence of live music produced by the actors themselves is a wonderful way of enhancing the sense of theatrical occasion.

Productions from cut to the chase… have evolved into more adventurous offerings over the years, thanks to the company’s successful bid at winning audiences over. To begin with, “safe” well-known shows with a guaranteed following were preferred options, such as Phantom of the Opera or Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party both in 1998.

“We have won the trust of the public,” says Bob. “We can do more risky shows and people won’t say oh, it’s going to be rubbish. Because we have established the company as a mainstay, we can now do more challenging titles like Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and also go to the other extreme with something as mad as Dick Barton and people give us a chance”.

Dick Barton Special Agent (2008): Paul Leonard and Karen Fisher-Pollard

Other bolder forays include John Buchan’s The 39 Steps in 2000, a poignant epic tale told using just two step ladders and a plank! And of course, cut to the chase… has successfully brought Shakespeare back to the Queen’s, with its magical production of The Tempest in 2007 and Twelfth Night in 2008.

Bob says: “Shakespeare is Britain’s greatest populist dramatist so it’s only right he is performed here. And we have gradually built up the audience for it.”

Bob is certain cut to the chase… will continue to grow in strength, breadth and popularity in years to come, but for the moment he is delighted with the company’s ongoing success.

The highest point so far, he says, has been seeing audience numbers grow dramatically through hard graft without having to resort to cheap tricks.

“It has been great seeing us go from an auditorium that is just 25 percent full when the company first started 10 years ago to 85 percent full now,” he says. “We have built viewing figures back up with solid work and good acting.”