Special Collections: Drama, Music and Theatre History

Introduction to the Cygnet Theatre

Cygnet Theatre was founded by Monica Shallis and Mary Evans in 1980 to allow discouraged students to pursue their interests in drama in a nurturing, close-knit environment. Monica Shallis was Head of Music at St Thomas’ High School in Exeter and founded the school’s orchestra and theatre groups that eventually became the Northcott Young Performers group at the Northcott Theatre. Initially, Cygnet Theatre operated from Monica Shallis’ house in central Exeter, with performances hosted in the living room before lack of space led to the eventual purchase of Trinity Hall in 1986. Cygnet Theatre groups also toured across Southwest England and regularly attended the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The learn-while-doing approach of Cygnet Theatre was inspired by both Monica and Mary’s involvement in repertory theatres. From the first term, Cygnet students were expected to perform to paying audiences as an ensemble, with dance, voice, acting, and movement classes developing their skills off-stage. Cygnet had a large advisory board, including Yoshi Oida, Alan Cumming, Ted Hughes and David Suchet, and the theatre and film director Peter Brook was patron until his death in 2022.