First production announced for newly-built theatre
A new theatre is set to open its doors in Staffordshire in the autumn after a huge community effort over the last few years.
Crown Wharf Theatre in Stone will open in October with an in-house production of "Shakespeare in Love", the hit stage adaptation of the 1998 Oscar-winning romantic comedy.
Tickets will go on sale in the summer, when the full opening programme, featuring plays, pantomime, stand-up comedy, cinema, music and more, will also be announced.
Open auditions for "Shakespeare in Love" will be held in May at the theatre for actors, singers, dancers and musicians who want to be the first to tread the boards at the professional-standard theatre.
And training events will be held over the summer for the dozens of people who’ve put their names down to volunteer at the theatre to cover the range of front-of-house and backstage roles required.
The trustees from the Crown Wharf Theatre charity have been working since 2017 to transform the shell of a building that was built and given over to the project on a peppercorn rent by theatre founding partner Joule’s Brewery.
With the support of volunteers, local businesses, seat sponsors and founding partners, the project raised more than £300,000 before, in December last year and with the support of Stafford Borough Council, it was awarded £495,000 from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
This funding means the transformation can be fully completed over the next few months, with the theatre getting professional-standard lighting, sound engineering and more.
Crown Wharf Theatre trustee Harri Capernaros, who will be directing the production of ‘Shakespeare in Love’, said: “It’s been an epic journey getting to this point and we can’t quite believe that, from October, the theatre will be full of people enjoying local shows, music, films, touring professional productions and more."
“It was important to us that we kick things off at the theatre with an in-house production open to all, and ‘Shakespeare in Love’ is perfect.
"It’s a true celebration of theatre and it shows the ups, downs, disasters and blind optimism that’s required every time a bunch of people decide to put on a show, never mind decide to build a theatre.
"This theme suits Crown Wharf Theatre so well. It’s a project that’s always seemed so unlikely and we’ve been faced with so many hurdles and setbacks.
"Yet somehow, after lots of hard work, community support and unwavering persistence, we find ourselves preparing for our first production.”
Dates, audition pieces and more information are on the theatre’s website at crownwharftheatre.org.uk
