25TH BIRTHDAY
TRON THEATRE T he Tron’s transformation into a became a fertile playground for both new writing and classic texts, boosting the careers of such home-grown talent as Peter Mullan, Alan Cumming and musician Craig Armstrong. These production shots come from a selection of The Tron’s most successful plays.
bustling, multi-arts venue was born of strong foundations. Starting life as the Glasgow Theatre Club, the Tron Theatre Company found a home at the derelict Tron Kirk in 1981. Under the artistic directorship of Michael Boyd (1986–1996), the space
Clockwise from bottom left: Benny Young in The Drawer Boy (2008, Andy Arnold's first production); David Kane's Dumbstruck (1994); Grant Smeaton and Johnny McKnight in Valhalla! (2010); Iain Glen in Macbeth (1985); The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2007).
ANDY ARNOLD Founder of the Arches in 1991, Andy Arnold is now artistic director of the Tron Theatre. He also featured in the very first issue of The List. He talks about what makes Glasgow theatre, and the Tron in particular, so special
I’ve had connections with the Tron since I was at
Theatre Workshop back in the 80s. Michael [Boyd, artistic director at the Tron from 1986- 1996] didn’t have much money but I would love coming and seeing what he was doing here. Then later, when I was at the Arches [as artistic director], I got to watch it all from just down the road, in Glasgow.
There’s something special about the Tron. I remember being in London in the late 80s and just loving the pub theatre feel there. So often theatre bars just have that functional feel. It’s about getting the right chemistry and The Tron has that: you can enjoy a drink and see a show. Before the refurb, it used to have an old Victorian-style bar, and even now with its changes I get as big a buzz from seeing the bar
packed and people chatting as I do a filled theatre. We’ve launched playwriting competitions, and this year the festival Mayfesto: it’s about building on what we have all the time.
There was never any doubt that the Tron was a great space for theatre, even in the early days. It was like a sleeping giant, with so much potential. I loved the idea of creating this powerhouse, with an eclectic mix of our own productions, co-productions and visiting companies. So when I left the Arches and came to the Tron, it felt like the right thing to try and create that frenetic energy you get from producing your own work. I wanted the theatre to be a real hub for artists to meet, and I set my stall to make it somewhere that would do new work and contemporary classics. I’ve worked
on nine productions now since I arrived in April 2008 and it’s the mix of work which makes it exciting: it’s what Glasgow’s known for, mixing it up. We’re what you would call a middle-scale theatre – half the size of the Citz, so there’s not the same pressure to get bums on seats. So many faces have been through our doors that have gone on to great things [from Peter Mullan to Alan Cumming] and there’s a sense of excitement seeing and working with people who you know are on their way to something really special.
After all this time, what we do here remains about keeping up the volume and energy of the work, and creating a theatre and programme that the people of Glasgow and beyond can respond to. (As told to Anna Millar)
30 THE LIST 23 Sep–7 Oct 2010