The Roundabout company as it now stands was founded in 1973. However, there had been a tradition of Nottingham Playhouse taking theatre into Nottingham and Nottinghamshire schools since it opened in 1963. In addition to schools matinee performances, which were programmed as part of every production, the Playhouse offered a touring production each year. Some early examples were Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw in 1964; Mirandalina by Goldoni in 1965; Scapin by Moliere in 1966; and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 1967 and Coriolanus in 1968. This level of commitment to work for schools was very unusual at that time.  

In the spring of 1973, the Playhouse’s artistic director Stuart Burge secured funding for a pilot Theatre in Education project, and invited Sue Birtwhistle to devise and direct it. The project was so successful that funding was offered by Nottinghamshire Education Committee to set up a permanent specialist Theatre in Education company, with a remit to provide a year-round service to all Nottinghamshire maintained schools. Roundabout was founded in April 1973, with Sue Birtwhistle as its first Artistic Director.  

In addition to providing a programme of specially-designed work for infant, junior, secondary, and special schools, Roundabout regularly produced new children’s plays for the Main House. Examples were Pig and Junkle by the poet Brian Patten, Paddington Bear, adapted by Alfred Bradley, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, adapted by Richard Williams. A television programme about Roundabout was made by ATV (which became Central TV), and was transmitted in 1977 as part of the England, Their England series.  

During the Seventies Roundabout’s reputation grew, and support from Nottinghamshire schools increased. However, in 1980, the company’s local authority funding – on which it depended for its existence - was withdrawn. Pat Silburn, who was then Associate Director at the Playhouse, took over temporary responsibility for Roundabout from its previous Artistic Director.  

After an intensive six-month campaign, Pat secured the full restoration of the local authority grant. The new Chairman of Education at the time, Councillor Fred Riddell, pledged his personal support for Roundabout. Pat Silburn became the company’s Artistic Director, a post she held for five years. During this time, the unique partnership between Roundabout, the Playhouse, and Nottinghamshire Education Committee was forged.  

This five years was a very important period of collaboration between the three partners. The Education Committee established new drama guidelines for schools, set up its 11th Session provision (arts workshops for children, run on Saturday mornings) and a drama advisory team, created Springboard (a major festival of arts in schools held each spring), and began taking productions by Acorn (the County’s flagship youth theatre) to the Edinburgh Festival. Roundabout was centrally involved in all these initiatives and, as proof of the value it placed on the company, the Education Committee took the unprecedented decision in 1984 – with all-party support – to make a five year funding commitment.  

Roundabout’s work during this period included mainstage productions such as Oh What A Lovely War, and When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs, and touring adaptations of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, and Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. Roundabout also expanded its remit into community touring in the East Midlands, a programme which included the theatre premiere of Trevor Griffiths’ Oi for England.  

When Pat Silburn left the company in 1986, Rick Hall was appointed Roundabout Director, and led the company until early 1990. During this period Roundabout increased the number of projects addressing social issues, as well as building a reputation for multi-racial work. The company had a semi-permanent core team of performers, which created all its work.  

In 1991, there was a complete change in the senior management team at the Playhouse. As well as looking at main house management structures, the new team took the opportunity to examine how Roundabout worked. As a result, the company’s artistic and educational policies were reviewed, as well as its management. This management review included the decision, controversial at the time, to move away from having a core team of performers.  

A written partnership agreement was then made between the Board of the Playhouse and Nottinghamshire Education Committee, which formalised the new structures.  

This partnership was unique in several respects. Key to it was the appointment of David Johnston as Director of Professional Theatre and Training, effectively Roundabout’s director, who was a senior officer of the Education Committee. This meant that Roundabout, though still a department of the Playhouse from a legal, contractual, and financial point of view, was directly managed both artistically and educationally by the LEA.  

Another aspect of the partnership was the full integration of Roundabout’s work into the Education Committee’s Arts Support Service. Roundabout staff attended Arts Support service business meetings, and Roundabout’s programming was linked to Arts Support Service priorities.  

In 1991 the partnership also created the Nottinghamshire College of Performing Arts, offering full-time BTEC courses in theatre to 100 students. Many of these students went on to professional careers in the arts, some joining Roundabout or the Playhouse. In 1993 The Next Stage, a new college of performing arts for adults, was founded. Roundabout members worked as tutors, directors, and production staff, alongside specialists from RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art).

In the 1990’s Roundabout’s work integrated a wide range of artforms. Artists from every continent worked in Nottinghamshire schools as part of its programme. In 1993 the company took its production of David Holman’s play ‘Peacemaker’ the Edinburgh Festival; as a result, they were invited to represent Britain at the Okinawa International Festival for Children in Japan, in 1994.  

1994 also saw the return of Roundabout’s work to the Playhouse main stage. To celebrate the company’s 21st Anniversary, Roundabout mounted a lavish production of Rumpelstiltskin, the schools matinee performances of which immediately sold out. Rumpelstiltskin began a tradition of an annual summer-term children’s production on the main stage, which continues to the present.  

The company was very strong both artistically and financially during the 1990’s. Almost all the work was newly-commissioned, from some of the country’s leading writers and directors for young people. Roundabout attracted substantial funding for work in drug education and crime awareness, as well as bullying, health education, fire awareness, and cross-cultural projects. The company often ran three or four touring companies at once, creating ten or eleven new projects a year.  

This expansion would not have been possible without the move at the beginning of the decade away from maintaining a permanent core team of performers, and towards employing performers of different ethnic backgrounds, and with different specialist skills and experience. Roundabout had, and still has, a large pool of associate actors, directors, designers, musicians, and choreographers who regard Nottingham as ‘home’. This pool system compensates for the continuity which is lost to some extent without a permanent core team.  

The 1990’s brought one change which it was thought might have a negative effect on Roundabout. Nottinghamshire Education Committee needed to delegate more and more funding to schools, which squeezed all centrally-held budgets. As a result of this, the authority’s – and, therefore, Roundabout’s – ability to provide a service to schools free of charge, was lost.  

The company began a charging policy based on a cost per pupil in the audience, rather than a fixed fee per performance. This meant that smaller schools were not at a disadvantage, and there was no incentive for schools to cram the largest possible number of pupils into each performance. It was difficult to know whether or not some schools became unable at that point to host Roundabout visits as a result of the charging policy; however, the overall number of bookings received from schools did not decreased substantially, and some schools – rather surprisingly – stated a preference for charges when they were introduced, because the bookings system changed from a form of ‘rationing’ of performances (the tours were always over-subscribed), to ‘first come, first served’.  

In 1998 Roundabout underwent its most recent change of management. Local government reorganisation meant that Nottingham City Council took on Unitary status, and, with that, responsibility for the provision of education within the City. However, the new authority immediately committed its support to Roundabout. In a smooth and uncomplicated process, Nottinghamshire Education Committee and City of Nottingham Education made a new, joint agreement to fund the provision of T.I.E. and young people’s theatre, through Roundabout.  

This new partnership meant that the management of Roundabout’s director could no longer reside with Nottinghamshire Education Committee. Following a six-month review, carried out by David Johnston, the partners agreed that the artistic and educational management of Roundabout should return to the Playhouse. A new post was created, which encompassed the management of education throughout the Playhouse as well as Roundabout. David Johnston had by this time been appointed Chief Executive of Arts 2000; the Playhouse appointed Andrew Breakwell, formerly of Wolsey T.I.E., as Director of Roundabout and Education.  

Under Andrew Breakwell’s management the scope of the education provision offered by the Playhouse was broadened significantly, to include workshops to complement main-stage activities, for children, young people and adults; a work-experience scheme for Year 10 and 11 students, Upstart!; more INSET provision for teachers; and the establishment of a Drama Forum, to provide networking and training opportunities for teachers of drama. Roundabout’s work continues to flourish, and the establishment of a new workshop-leader post in 2002 enables the company to offer a workshop programme to accompany productions for schools.  

However, not all the recent news for the company has been good. Roundabout and the Playhouse faced a major setback at the end of 2000, when Nottinghamshire County Council cut its grant to Roundabout completely. This meant the loss of over 40% of the company’s revenue funding at a stroke. Roundabout had to re-structure its staffing as a result, but, thanks to the complete commitment of the Playhouse to providing a theatre-in-education service under Roundabout’s banner, and to the continued support of its other revenue funders, the company was able to continue to provide a year-round programme of plays and workshops.  

The funding-cut had a very significant effect on some of the County’s schools, which is still in evidence now. Roundabout has to charge a higher fee to these schools, as their performances are no longer fully subsidised. Some small schools, despite having supported Roundabout for many years, are no longer able to afford the performance-fees. This has been especially evident in rural schools, which are situated too far apart to be able to share performances, and share the costs.  

As with all the arts, T.I.E. has its ups and downs, operating in a climate not only of ever-changing funding structures but continuing shifts in education policy as well. All the major challenges which Roundabout has faced in its 30 years have been accompanied by new opportunities, and that is as true now as it has ever been. The focus on the Foundation Curriculum will enable the company to make new partnerships with its local education authorities, to which it can bring its considerable expertise the provision of theatre for young children. Several secondary schools in the region have now attained Specialist Arts College status, and there are exciting opportunities for collaborative working there. And Roundabout’s reputation for excellence in what it does best – making plays for young people – continues untarnished, which is its greatest asset and its best security.    

Some of the above is based on an article written in 1997 by David Johnston, the former Director of Professional Theatre and Training for Nottinghamshire Education Committee. He was assisted by Pat Silburn, former Director of Roundabout, and Vice-Chair of Nottingham Playhouse Board at the time, and E. D. (Dan) Shaw (now deceased), former Drama Adviser to Nottinghamshire Education Committee.