The 2008 Summer Festival
A Milestone and a Stepping Stone for the Future
As you will no doubt realise, 2008 marks our 25th anniversary at Hever, an achievement of which we are extremely proud. The theatre has produced close on 1000 performances (only 5 of which have been abandoned due to bad weather) and has attracted close on 400,000 people. The theatre has evolved from a few rostra and some seats on the Loggia lawn to a fully equipped entertainment venue, and all funded almost entirely on the proceeds of ticket sales, with no funding from the Arts or local authorities.
In so doing, we have enjoyed ourselves tremendously, and we hope provided a valued source of summer evening entertainment for many thousands living in, or visiting the southeast of England.
We were obviously saddened, albeit understanding, by the news that the owners of Hever Castle would like to reclaim their beautiful Italian loggia and lakeside setting. However, they were keen that the Theatre should continue, and so together we have worked for some 18 months on finding another suitable location.
Mission Accomplished!
In the spring of 2008, and after considering a number of alternative sites, we have selected a new theatre site on Two Sisters Lawn which lies just above the Italian Garden. We believe it provides terrific potential for the future development of the theatre facilities at Hever in 2009 and beyond, allowing us to explore new programming opportunities, whilst retaining full access to the lakeside picnicking experience, peaceful ambience of the Italian Garden, and facilities of the Pavilion Restaurant.
The move to the new location will of course involve a measure of re-equipment and development that will require a sizeable investment. Which is why we are looking towards this year’s Summer Festival to generate some of the finance needed for this purpose.
However, we don’t want your donations, just your support »
If you would like to be on our mailing list for news on the new theatre’s development,
please call the Box Office on 01732 866114
