ETG’s rich history began in 1957 when a group of students, which included Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Trevor Nunn, travelled across Switzerland with their production of Romeo and Juliet.
The tour then consisted of half a dozen actors and a set transported in two fruit vans, but was such a success that we have toured Europe with a Shakespeare Play on an annual basis since. Tour alumnus Stephen Fry discussed his experiences in his book, The Fry Chronicles:
“In the Christmas vacation, I accompanied the European Theatre Group on a tour of the Continent. The ETG had been founded by Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn and others in 1957 … and had earned a lamentable reputation for its frequent lapses from high seriousness and decorum … amateur performances which a pro would be proud of.”
Since then, we have grown in size and ambition and are now a self-sufficient theatrical company, travelling by coach with professional equipment and an experimental set.
- 2018 – Othello
- 2017 – Much Ado About Nothing
- 2016 – Hamlet
- 2015 – Twelfth Night
- 2014 – Macbeth
- 2013 – Richard III
- 2012 – The Merchant of Venice
- 2011 – King Lear
- 2010 – The Taming of the Shrew
- 2009 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 2008 – Hamlet
- 2007 – Julius Caesar
- 2006 – Macbeth
- 2005 – The Taming of the Shrew
- 2004 – Romeo & Juliet
- 2003 – Much Ado About Nothing
- 2002 – Twelfth Night
- 2001 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 2000 – The Tempest
- 1999 – The Winter’s Tale
- 1998 – Measure for Measure
- 1997 – Hamlet
- 1996 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 1995 – Richard II
- 1994 – The Tempest
- 1993 – Othello
- 1992 – As You Like It
- 1991 – Henry V
- 1990 – King Lear
- 1989 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 1988 – The Taming of the Shrew
- 1987 – Macbeth
- 1986 – Measure for Measure
- 1985 – Much Ado About Nothing
- 1984 – Twelfth Night
- 1983 – The Merry Wives of Windsor
- 1982 – Romeo and Juliet
- 1981 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 1980 – The Taming of the Shrew
- 1979 – Macbeth
- 1978 – King Lear
- 1977 – Antony and Cleopatra
- 1976 – Julius Caesar
- 1975 – Romeo and Juliet
- 1974 – The Tempest
- 1973 – Hamlet
- 1972 – Macbeth
- 1971 – A Man for All Seasons
- 1970 – Much Ado About Nothing
- 1969 – Measure for Measure
- 1968 – As You Like It
- 1967 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 1966 – Comedy of Errors
- 1965 – Cymbeline
- 1964 – The Merry Wives of Windsor
- 1963 – Love’s Labour’s Lost
- 1957 – Romeo and Juliet
What has happened to the Falstaff tour of France and Switzerland under Tony Palmer? I have the reviews. I played Falstaff.
Yes, the tour of 1962 with Henry IV, directed by Tony Palmer and featuring Miriam Margolyes as Mistress Quickly.