Reform Theatre Company was formed by actor/director Keith Hukin in 1998 after a deal struck with the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield to produce two John Godber plays, Weekend Breaks & April in Paris. In 1999 Weekend Breaks opened at the Pomegranate Theatre on the 12th October with the cast of Roger Butcher, Lynn Eckroyd & Keith Hukin & followed that with a four week northern tour. After a break
Reform returned to the Pomegranate in 2002 with a week's run of Godber’s Up 'N ' Under, which was followed by a five week national tour of Jim Cartwright’s Two starring Richard Marriott and Jo Swain of The Full Monty fame, furing which time Reform finally got to play their home city of Sheffield at the Lantern Theatre. Godber’s September in the Rain goes was the next project to tour; that autumn, for an eight week run & the production was part-funded by The Arts Council to play regional venues. The 2003 spring tour of Jump to Cow Heaven by Gill Adams, took Reform in a different direction telling the true story of The Kray’s gang member Frankie the Mad Axe Man. A busy year followed, the company came back to their northern roots with a run of September in the Rain at the Pomegranate Theatre, another national tour of Weekend Breaks & an Arts Council funded development of Sheffield writer David Bown’s Stand, which led to two nights performance at the Lantern Theatre, Sheffield.
2004 began with further funding from Arts Council England & a national tour of David Bown’s Stand with a cast of Dave Walker, Susan Mitchell, Keith Hukin & Jo Swain, who appeared in the first professional production of Stand for Hull Truck Theatre. Reform started the tour at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, the first time of playing there & with a sell-out week to begin the tour. Further tours of September in the Rain & Kissing Sid James finished the year off to rave reviews & growing audiences. A new production of April in Paris started off 2005 & a re-cast second tour of Stand followed, with Ava Burton & Richard Marriott & the show taking in York Theatre Royal on its travels. Summer brought another development project of David Bown’s Loaded, with two nights public performance. Then to finish the year came John Godber’s Bouncers, the largest Reform tour so far playing seventy performances & to thirteen & a half thousand people, with Godber himself visiting the show in Doncaster. In 2006 Reform secured its first major funding from Arts Council England for work through the year. Robert Farquhar’s God’s Official went on a spring tour finishing on a sell-out night at the Lantern Theatre, Sheffield. Gordon Steel agreed for his first ever play, Dead Fish, to be re-set against the Sheffield steel industry of the 80’s, which culminated in a summer preview. Autumn brought the long awaited tour of David Bown’s second play Loaded, which was followed by another tour of September in the Rain.
2007 started with the national tour of Dead Fish, that received rave reviews & finished with a sell-out week at the Crucible Theatre in May/June 2007. With the success of Gordon’s work, Reform embarked on his second play Like A Virgin in autumn 2007, opening new venues for the company & forging a reputation as a very exciting, high quality theatre company. The partnership with Gordon Steel carried on with a national tour of Albert Nobbs in 2008 followed by yet another sell-out week of Godber’s September in the Rain at the Crucible Theatre. Reform celebrated 10 years of touring in 2009 with John Godber's Happy Jack. Roger Butcher- who was in the first Reform tour- returning to play Jack and Annie Sawle playing Liz. After a brief hiatus Reform returned in 2010 with a three month tour of Mark Whiteley's comedy two hander Thick As Thieves, starring Emmerdale actor Matthew Booth & Reform regular Kivan Dene. The project was a first for Reform in that it involved the company creatively adapting what was a one act conceptual piece into a full length play. The show was incredibly well recieved by its audiences & fittingly finished with two nights at the Pomegranate Chesterfield.
