The Stage

Headstrong Headlong

Published Tuesday 12 December 2006 at 11:05

In reference to Richard Jordan’s column (November 2, page 11), the change of name from Oxford Stage Company to Headlong this year was a decision put in motion prior to my arrival at the company and with the relocation of the company from Oxford to London in 2002, the latest in a series of moves since the company’s inception in 1974 as Anvil Productions.

It was a decision informed by confusion about our identity as audiences frequently thought we were either a student company or based at the Oxford Playhouse (our mail was often sent there). The decision was also one taken in consultation with our partner venues, past practitioners, and using all the available audience research possible. In fact, within the industry and across the country the message was very clear - change the name and now is the right time to so. The problem was less whether to change, than what to change to. The simple scenario was to just drop the ‘Oxford’ but we did not want to presume to sound like an offshoot of your paper.

So Headlong it is then and Headlong it will remain. A company lives or dies on its work, not its name and, to quote Nicola Thorold, outgoing head of drama at ACE when I wrote to her about our plans, for every Method and Madness there is a Nitro or English Touring Theatre. The OSC brand turned out, for the audience, to have remarkably little penetration despite Richard Jordan’s ill-informed claims. Does this mean John Retallack and Dominic Dromgoole’s legacy is a poor one? Of course not, and Richard Jordan’s article is a reflection of the extraordinary profile the company has enjoyed within the industry and among those who have worked for and loved the company.

The relative invisibility of the brand in audience research is just a reflection of the much documented fact that audiences tend to relate their theatre going experiences far more to buildings than to companies, especially when the company is offering a wide range of work in different styles as OSC had always done. The true OSC legacy is in the highest production values, world-class actors, a deep sense of family in our organisation and, above all, work of adventure, daring and passion. These are the foundations on which Headlong is built and will remain at the centre of our forward-looking, vibrant and dynamic Headlong future.

Rupert Goold

Artistic Director

Headlong Theatre

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