May 2017 has been confirmed as the eagerly awaited opening date for the new Storyhouse cultural centre in Chester where the first ever theatre season has also been announced.
It had originally been hoped the new £37m theatre, cinema and library would have opened in time for this Christmas but that was postponed earlier this year until next spring.
However, today it has been revealed the first show will take place in the 500-seat main auditorium on May 11 2017 - and you can start booking tickets for the opening season from this Monday.
Storyhouse, which is the UK’s largest regional arts project under construction, will open with a run of four home-produced shows, performed in rep, by a company of 26 of the country’s finest actors.
The theatre will open with a riotous new musical based on The Beggar’s Opera, the premiere of playwright Glyn Maxwell’s joyful new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, Shakespeare’s brutal political thriller Julius Caesar and comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
All of the productions will premiere on the 500-seat wrap-around Storyhouse Stage – one of two formats for the main theatre.
And in a unique feature of the new venture, much of the indoor theatre programme will transfer during the summer to the nationally acclaimed Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre.
The entire run, from May 11–August 27, presents one of the UK’s most ambitious theatre seasons. The four shows are spread right across the summer and audiences will be able to choose between seeing productions in the new theatre and in Grosvenor Park.
Alice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar transfer into the open air for the height of summer, while The Beggar’s Opera continues inside.
Artistic director Alex Clifton said: “We are so thrilled to be announcing our much anticipated inaugural season. We believe we have four brilliant stories to tell.
“We open with the down-and-dirty musical The Beggar’s Opera, in a new version for Chester with an original score, rewritten for our time.
“Alice in Wonderland will be a joyful family show, that meets a little girl on the last afternoon of her childhood, escaping into wonderland.
“All of the plays in the season tackle big, important questions about our shared cultural identity and none more obviously than Julius Caesar, a political thriller, perfectly set to take audiences to the rancid heart of power.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be an on-stage carnival and celebrate the glorious diversity and volatility of human desire.”
Storyhouse has been carved out of the Grade II listed shell of the former Odeon cinema, alongside a new brick and translucent glass extension. The Storyhouse library, restaurant and independent cinema are housed in the former Odeon’s streamlined art-deco interior. The uniquely flexible 800/500 seat auditorium, 150-seat community studio and rooftop bar are housed in the new extension.
Councillor Louise Gittins, Cabinet member, communities and wellbeing for Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Storyhouse will be a place the borough’s communities can come together and experience the UK’s leading theatre, opera, dance and music companies – it will create opportunities not available before. What better way to start than with Storyhouse locally produced programme. This is the first of many exciting stories.”
Councillor Stuart Parker, Shadow Cabinet member, communities and wellbeing. added: “Storyhouse marks a substantial shift in the region’s growing cultural offer, the wait has definitely been worth it to see the transformation into a venue for us all to feel a part of.”
Designed by Bennetts Associates and funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council, Arts Council England and trusts and foundations, Storyhouse will be the largest public building ever in Chester.
Full of new creative spaces, the theatre will transform from an 800 seat proscenium arch in the autumn and winter presenting national and international touring productions, to a more intimate 500 seat thrust in the spring, summer and Christmas time.
Other spaces include a 150 seat studio theatre, open plan foyers, hospitality spaces, and a library that spills across all areas of the operation – including a dedicated children’s library complete with wet play, arts and crafts spaces and a storytelling room.
The Beggar’s Opera by Glyn Maxwell, directed by Alex Clifton, can be seen on the Storyhouse stage from May 11-August 19 for 25 performances.
Alice in Wonderland by Glyn Maxwell can be seen on the Storyhouse stage from May 19-July 9 for 22 performances. It will then transfer to the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre from July 15-August 20 for 15 performances.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, directed by Alex Clifton, can be seen on the Storyhouse stage from June 9-July 16 for 15 performances. It will then transfer to the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre from July 21-August 27 for 18 performances.
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare can be seen on the Storyhouse stage from June 23-July 30 for 15 performances. It will then transfer to the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre from August 3-27 for 11 performances.
Tickets for all four productions go on sale Monday, October 24. Visit www.storyhouse.com to find out more.
