Theatre of the United Kingdom rise of satire in 1960s Britain. The Chichester Festival Theatre was Britain's first modern thrust stage theatre. It was inspired by the Festival Theatre of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival launched by Tyrone Guthrie in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario. The inaugural Artistic Director of the Chichester Festival was Sir Laurence Olivier, and it was at Chichester that the first National Theatre company was formed. Chichester's productions would transfer to the National Theatre's base at the Old Vic in London. The Theatres Act 1968 abolished the system of censorship of the stage that had existed in Great Britain since 1737.
The Good Companions Cheeseman commissioned Bob Eaton (Book and Lyrics) and Sayan Kent (Book and Music) to write a new stage musical version for the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle Under Lyme. It was directed by Bob Eaton. It has since been performed at the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick in 2002, directed by Ian Forrest, the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich in 2003 directed by Peter Rowe and in 1998 it was the 40th Anniversary production at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, where Bob Eaton was Artistic Director (1996 to 2003). The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School produced an all new musical version, at the