Just when you thought Oxford was sufficiently endowed with theatrical companies, along comes another to add to the mix — and the founders promise that this one will be refreshingly different.

Flintlock Theatre — named after the mechanism used in 18th-century firearms to create a spark — is a new, small-scale professional theatre company based in Oxford, run by husband-and-wife team Robin Colyer and Anna Glynn.

The company launches on September 4 with an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s wacky satire The Government Inspector.

And it will not be in a conventional theatre space, it will be presented at the Jericho Tavern, as part of the new company’s policy to recreate the intimate, vibrant atmosphere of Elizabethan theatre.

“In some respects you could say it’s site specific,” Robin tells me. “Some of the action in the play takes place in a pub, and a pub is referred to. But more importantly, it’s a small place that’s going to be packed with people. It only seats 85, but it’s going to feel incredibly full. So it’s going to be lively, with not much space, there’ll be drinking, dancing and music, we’ll get the audience involved and it’ll be quite a raucous evening.

“It’s not an Elizabethan experience, but creatively our identity is inspired by Elizabethan theatre concepts. It’s not a huge, filmic, visually spectacular experience; it’s more about the atmosphere, about pushing the boundaries of theatrical devices, and creating a live, collaborative event between the audience and performers.”

Many might question the need for another theatre company in Oxford, but Robin insists Flintlock will offer something a little different. “Oxford’s got an interesting mainstream professional theatre scene, and a thriving amateur theatre scene,” he says. “But what there’s not much of is small-scale, professional, creative companies.”

How will Flintlock, pictured above, rehearsing, differ from Creation, Oxford’s resident professional theatre company? “There is one thing that distinguishes it specifically from Creation. Every production they bring in a new creative team, with a different director and different designer. Every production comes out a bit differently. There are lots of theatre companies that function very successfully like that, and Creation is one of those.

“I’m very passionate about a theatre company being a company — people come and go, but it works from a pool of people who develop a way of working together, so you’ve got people who are attuned to each other. And audiences love seeing the same faces.” Flintlock Theatre presents The Government Inspector at the Jericho Tavern, Walton Street, from September 4-21. For details visit www.flintlocktheatre.com