Rose Theatre Kingston - Spring 2019

[NeilVHughes]

Stones in His Pockets  (Thu 28 Feb - Sat 9 Mar)

Hollywood comes to rural Ireland in this moving and hilarious Olivier Award-winning tale of a quiet community turned upside down, directed by Lindsay Posner.


To Kill a Mockingbird  (Tue 12 - Sat 23 Mar)

Harper Lee's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel exploring racial injustice is brought to life, as the critically acclaimed production from Regent's Park Theatre returns to the stage.


Captain Corelli's Mandolin  (Tue 23 Apr - Sun 12 May)

Melly Still directs the first major stage adaptation of Louis de Bernieres' iconic novel about a passionate love affair on the Greek island of Cephallonia, set against the turbulent backdrop of World War II.



On sale to general public from Thu 4 Oct at 10am

[oxfordsimon]

That is a very dull looking season. 2 novel adaptations shows a lack of ambition to me - and I speak as someone who likes them (as long as they are done well)

[learfan]

Sept 28, 2018 17:30:44 GMT oxfordsimon said:

That is a very dull looking season. 2 novel adaptations shows a lack of ambition to me - and I speak as someone who likes them (as long as they are done well)

My thoughts exactly, ah well saves me money.

[Jan]

Sept 28, 2018 17:30:44 GMT oxfordsimon said:

That is a very dull looking season. 2 novel adaptations shows a lack of ambition to me - and I speak as someone who likes them (as long as they are done well)

It doesn't show a lack of ambition, it shows a lack of money. This large theatre (Peter Hall's Folly) has struggled to gain an audience ever since it opened, you can hardly blame them for trying to raise some money via co-productions (all the new events are co-produced) of two GCSE set texts. They do a more challenging play every so often - currently "Hogarth's Progress" and later in the year "Don Carlos" - but I doubt there is a significant audience for them. 

[learfan]

Its interesting isn't it, i agree the Rose theatre's capacity is too big but its set in an affluent part of the suburbs and ought to have an audience who don't want to shlep into the WE. I see two other theatres in the region, Redgrave at Farnham and Thorndike at Leatherhead are either shut or reduced to a community venue. Bit odd.

[showgirl]

I'd also compare the Rose/Kingston firstly with Guildford, where both the Yvonne Arnaud and the Electric Theatre seem to thrive, albeit with different programming, and there are also fringe productions. Secondly with Richmond, where again there are two theatres with quite different programming (ATG's Richmond Theatre with the usual touring productions and the independent Orange Tree), so Kingston does seem to be the odd one out in that area.

I'd put it down to a combination of the venue itself (over-large auditorium) and the programming, which imo is hugely variable, both in terms of genre and appeal.

[Jan]

Sept 30, 2018 13:56:01 GMT showgirl said:

I'd also compare the Rose/Kingston firstly with Guildford, where both the Yvonne Arnaud and the Electric Theatre seem to thrive, albeit with different programming, and there are also fringe productions. Secondly with Richmond, where again there are two theatres with quite different programming (ATG's Richmond Theatre with the usual touring productions and the independent Orange Tree), so Kingston does seem to be the odd one out in that area.

I'd put it down to a combination of the venue itself (over-large auditorium) and the programming, which imo is hugely variable, both in terms of genre and appeal.

They were badly let down by Hall who went off to Bath and instituted exactly the sort of programming (leveraging his contacts and reputation) that might have worked in Kingston.

[Snciole]

I think they are let down by South West Trains as well. I only live in Croydon, in theory I can head to Wimbledon and bus it or I can get the train but much like Richmond it takes a special production for me to spend my money and take my time getting there. Hogarth's Progress with a well know cast is really struggling to sell. The issue when setting up a theatre in these sorts of places is that the West End isn't that far, particularly if you already commute into central London for work so you are relying on an elderly community who may not want to make that journey.

[showgirl]

Agree that Kingston is a pain to reach as though it's not that far as the crow flies, it takes me 3 overground trains each way and the SWT leg is stopping trains only. I do go there for a matinee before heading into London for an evening play or the reverse, but it's still time-consuming. Richmond has a far better train service (plus the overground, tube and bus); Wimbledon has similar options and though Guildford is further out and has trains/buses only, it doesn't stop the Yvonne Arnaud audience so compared with the local competition, the Rose seems to have multiple issues to overcome.