CROWDS of people are regularly wowed by the spectacular stage performances at the Wycombe Swan – but such entertainment hasn’t always been easy to come by for residents of the town.

The Electroscope

The first purpose-built theatre/cinema in High Wycombe was the Electroscope in Oxford Street, opposite Frogmoor.

It was opened in 1912, and initially offered a varied programme of live artistes and silent films such as Charlie Chaplin’s ‘’It’s a Dogs Life’’. In 1938 it was converted into a cinema, The Rex, which many older residents of the town will remember.

Plans for a New Theatre

It was not then until after WW2 that a live theatre showing regular productions throughout the year came to the town.

The idea for the theatre was conceived during World War II by four servicemen with a deep-rooted love of the dramatic arts, all of whom served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (R.E.M.E.).

They were led by Ian Dobbie, a theatrical producer before the war, who being able to call upon not only men and women with acting experience, but also carpenters, electricians etc, organised a series of plays to help maintain the morale of the service personnel in the build- up to D-Day.

Many evenings were spent in the NAAFI by Dobbie and his colleagues Jack Stone, a builder from Morden in Surrey, Nick Simms, an engineer from Slough, and Ted Shoesmith, a London clerk, discussing their idea to establish a theatre after the war, and scanning a map of the London area to choose a suitable location.

Eventually High Wycombe was selected, and before demobilisation they travelled here when on leave to search for a suitable building. Of all the buildings they inspected in the town the only possibility was that at the northern end of Frogmoor and in Ian Dobbie’s own words ‘it took courage to visualise the old swimming bath as a theatre’!

Technical & Arts Institute

This building, with its distinctive clock tower, was originally constructed in 1893 for the Wycombe Technical and Arts Institute, which subsequently moved to Easton St.

It was then used for many purposes, including a conversion to a swimming pool, and during WW2 as a furniture store. Ian Dobbie’s practical stage experience was combined with Jack Stone’s experience as a builder to draw-up plans for the conversion whilst the foursome were still in uniform.

When demobilisation began in 1945 however they were spread around the world, Shoesmith and Stone had been sent to India, Dobbie to Germany, and Simms was in America!

It was not until a year later, in July 1946, that the conversion work could begin. At that time regulations did not permit the employment of building labour on anything but ‘essential work’, and a theatre was way down the list of priorities! So all the work had to be done by the team themselves, working long days, 7 days a week.

They tackled every job from labour-intensive tasks such as wood-sawing and cement-mixing, to the intricacies of electrical installations, ventilation, and staggered seating.
When finished the theatre had a stage area of just under 1,000 sq ft., the acting area being roughly square.

The auditorium could seat just under 300, the floor having a parabolic rake to give a perfect sight-line from every seat. The seating itself was designed by a well-known London firm of theatre furnishers, and tailor-made for the theatre.

Stage lighting was of the latest design and had an entirely original switching system allowing of great flexibility. There was provision for an orchestra pit., and dressing-room accommodation. The theatre was complemented by a workshop for constructing the sets, a café-lounge (initially of limited facility), and a car park to the rear of what was then Frogmoor Garage.

“The Rep” Opens

The new theatre was given the name Wycombe Repertory Theatre and it was with an enormous and justifiable sense of pride on the part of the team that it opened on Monday December 16, 1946. The event was attended by Hugh Williams, star of stage and screen.

The opening took place despite the fact that Wycombe Town Council’s watch committee was not entirely satisfied that the theatre complied with all the then current safety precautions. Specifically a safety curtain was not in place, but at the council meeting Councillor Brocklehurst argued that ‘it might be fairer if they did not stick to the strict letter of the law’! A temporary licence was granted until December 31, and then extended until March 31, 1947.

The first play was Gerald Savoy’s ‘George and Margaret’, which ran for 8 days until December 24. The company then worked over Christmas to re-open the theatre on December 26 with the production of a Christmas comedy by N.C.Hunter, ‘A Party for Christmas’.

The play was supported by businesses, for example the local shop Gardners supplying furnishings, and the telephone was supplied by courtesy of the GPO. The performances were daily at 7.30pm, with matinees 2.30pm on Wednesday and Saturday, and admission prices were 10s.6d for a box (seating 2), stalls at 4s.6d, and the pit at 3s.6d and 2s.

And Closes

Despite attracting some of the best actors and actresses of the day, and with a varied programme of plays, the theatre was always struggling to attract sufficient audiences.

The name was changed, as a re-branding exercise, because it was thought that the term ‘Repertory Theatre’ implied an amateur status. It became the Tower Theatre in 1952, and then was changed again to the Intimate Theatre in 1955.

The final death blow came in the late 1950’s with the widespread availability of television. The theatre finally closed for regular performances in December 1958.

It did however continue to be occasionally used for productions by local organisations until it closed completely a year later. So ended some 12 years of repertory theatre, during which over 400 plays and pantomimes had been presented, and many well-known actors had “trodden its boards”.