Background
Creation Theatre Company produces theatre that is visual, exciting and accessible, combining action with special effects. Creation believes that an audience need not have studied a play in depth in order to enjoy it. Creation productions simply tell the story with a visual and fast-paced delivery.
Creation Theatre Company was founded in 1996. Initially the focus of the company's activity was its open-air productions on an island in the River Cherwell at Magdalen College School. The first production was Romeo and Juliet (1996), followed by Macbeth (1997), Hamlet (1998), Antony & Cleopatra and The Tempest (1999), and Alice Through The Looking Glass and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2000). In 2001 the company produced its first winter project, Hamlet, in a factory space at BMW Group Plant Oxford.
Summer 2002 saw Creation's first production outside Oxford in the beautiful ruins of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury which we have returned to for four years with As You Like It (2005), Much Ado About Nothing (2004), Twelfth Night (2003) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2002).
In 2003 Creation moved to a new venue, Headington Hill Park and in spring 2004, opened a unique production of The Winter's Tale in the Mirror Tent, again hosted by BMW. This was followed by our first Christmas show A Christmas Carol in winter 2004-2005.
In summer 2006 Creation performed at two Oxford venues simultaneously: Macbeth and Robin Hood at Headington Hill Park, and The Merchant of Venice at Oxford Castle. Audience figures for the summer exceeded 27,000. This was followed by the incredibly popular Arabian Nights in the Mirror Tent.
Summer 2007 was unfortunately hit by terrible flooding in Oxfordshire, yet Creation still produced three successful shows - Hamlet and The Oxford Passion in Oxford Castle Garden and The Taming of the Shrew in Oxford Castleyard. The Christmas show was the most successful to date - Tales from the Brothers Grimm, again in the Mirror Tent at BMW Group Plant Oxford. This was the year Creation also became a registered charity. After surviving 12 years without any core funding from city or county Arts Councils, Creation is now able to accept donations from individual givers or grant giving organisations.
Spring 2008 saw a rarely performed Shakespeare play open in a brand new venue - Measure for Measure at The North Wall. Most shows were completely sold out days in advance.
This summer is the most exciting to date. Creation presents Oxford's Open Air Theatre Festival comprising a programme of Shakespeare plays and a family show at various extraordinary locations across Oxford. Much Ado About Nothing will be performed in Oxford Castleyard, A Midsummer Night's Dream will be in promenade around the beautiful Headington Hill Park, and a brand new one man show, Shakespeare's Saints and Sinners, promises to be unforgettable.
We also offer regular workshops to children and young people of all ages which are fun as well as confidence building and educational.
Please visit our Past Productions page to see information and cast details for each production.