 The theatre in 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Rose Theatre Kingston | |
| Address | 24–26 High Street |
|---|---|
| Location | Kingston upon Thames,Greater London |
| Coordinates | 51°24′31″N0°18′27″W / 51.4086°N 0.3075°W /51.4086; -0.3075 |
| Public transit | Kingston |
| Owner | Kingston Theatre Trust |
| Type | Theatre |
| Capacity | 822 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | January 16, 2008 (2008-01-16) |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheRose Theatre Kingston is atheatre on Kingston High Street in theRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London, England. The theatre seats 822 around a wide, thrust stage.[1]
It officially opened on 16 January, 2008 with the playUncle Vanya written byAnton Chekhov and directed by SirPeter Hall.[2] Hall had also directed an "in the raw" production ofAs You Like It within the shell of the uncompleted building in December 2004.[3][4]
The theatre's layout is based on that of theRose Theatre in London, anElizabethan theatre that staged the plays ofChristopher Marlowe and early plays byShakespeare. It features a shallowthrust stage. Unlike the original Rose, it makes theElizabethan design more comfortable by adding a roof and modern seats, rather like theSwan Theatre inStratford-upon-Avon. The auditorium has since been refurbished to include stall seating in the pit area – reaching a total number of 822 seats.
The Rose was a project supported by Peter Hall and broadcasterDavid JacobsCBE, who served as chairman of the Kingston Theatre Trust.
The construction was undertaken with £5m (of the £11m construction cost) support from the local council, involvement fromKingston University, Peter Hall, and the Friends of Kingston Theatre. The shell of the building was provided to the Trust for free by St George plc as one of the concessions for the construction of Charter Quay, a development on the bank of theThames.
In January 2008, a week after the theatre opened, Hall resigned and it was announced that from April 2008,Stephen Unwin, departing director ofEnglish Touring Theatre would take over the role of Artistic Director, while Hall would remain as director emeritus.[5]
On 25 November, 2010, the Rose won an award for "Commitment to the Community," at the Kingston Business Awards.[6] The same week, Sir Peter Hall won theMoscow Art Theatre Golden Seagull award for his contribution to World Theatre at theEvening Standard Awards.[7][8]
The Rose is supported by theRoyal Borough of Kingston andKingston University. However, it receives no funding fromArts Council England.
The Rose has staged an increasing number of home-grown productions. Some highlights includeLove's Labour's Lost, directed by Sir Peter Hall;A Christmas Carol;Terence Rattigan'sThe Winslow Boy withTimothy West; Sir Peter Hall's revival ofAlan Ayckbourn'sBedroom Farce withJane Asher andNicholas Le Prevost (which later transferred to the West End) in repertoire withMiss Julie;Treasure Island;Judi Dench in Sir Peter Hall's production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream;Dumb Show byJoe Penhall;Noël Coward'sHay Fever withCelia Imrie; Three Musketeers;[9][10]As You Like It; Jane Asher returned forOscar Wilde'sThe Importance of Being Earnest performed in rep with the premiere ofHarley Granville-Barker'sFarewell to the Theatre; The Snow Queen;Joely Richardson inThe Lady from the Sea;Alison Steadman inMichael Frayn'sHere; andThe Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Kingston University has held its graduation ceremonies at the Rose Theatre since 2010 (students completing their degree in 2009); they were, for many years, previously held at theRoyal Albert Hall and in 2009, at theRoyal Festival Hall.
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