The Festival Theatre is an open-air festival set in the gardens of Hever Castle. Located in three open-air theatre venues in the gardens: the Two Sisters’ Theatre, the Loggia and Anne Boleyn’s Walk.
Kent Rep Theatre Company was created by Richard Palmer and his family 40 years ago to produce a new, varied and exciting programme of theatre for Kent. The group of local actors, directors, and designers chose to present their work in the repertory format which performed more than 70 plays over the following years. Opening With A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the magical atmosphere created in the Italian Garden, The Festival Theatre at Hever Castle was born. The festival soon became one of the most popular open-air venues in the South-East, still attracting many thousands of visitors each summer.
Hundreds of performers have taken part alongside Kent Rep including jazz stars; Humphrey Lyttelton, George Melly, Stacey Kent and the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars. Classical music and opera still form a large part of the theatre programme including Charles Court Opera’s hit Gilbert and Sullivan performances, and the ever-popular Last Night of the Hever Proms with The Brandenburg Sinfonia.
Josh Widdicombe, Seann Walsh, Andy Parsons, Mark Steel, Shapi Khorsandi and Tom Allen to name but a few, continue to provide the comedy. All this alongside family shows including Horrible Histories and Room On The Broom.
Recent events have taken place in spaces across the estate (even as far as Hever Church opposite the castle’s main entrance) with Shakespeare’s Globe, the Guildhall Strings and puppetry with Long Nose Puppets: Arthur’s Dreamboat and Elmer the Elephant, magician Ben Hart, musical entertainment covering the last century of electrifying music from the magic of Motown to Amy Winehouse and of course many, many plays.
Festival Director Ailsa Molyneux says: ‘We are so proud of The Festival Theatre at Hever Castle. Our stunning venue, staff and performers are a tribute to our breath-taking home. We can’t wait to celebrate being 40 with our audiences. That will be when the real fun begins. The festival goes from strength to strength despite not receiving any public subsidies or grants, relying entirely on ticket sales to finance each season. We couldn’t do this without the fabulous support of Hever Castle, they are exceptional, and, along with the Guthrie family, our greatest supporters. Our volunteers play a huge role in our success, their dedication guarantees the extraordinary atmosphere which can only be created at the Festival Theatre.’
Tickets for 2023 events are now on sale.online or ring the Box Office on 07379 488477.
In celebration of the special birthday, 40 brilliant events will be performed which include opera, plays, jazz, music, speakers, comedy, family favourites and the best tribute artists. The festival opened with Shakespeare 40 years ago and will do the same this year as The Three Inch Fools perform As You Like It on The Loggia on Saturday 27 May.
Events will take place at Two Sisters’ Theatre, The Loggia, Anne Boleyn’s Walk and for one night only the castle can be the stunning back drop to enjoy Illyria’s production of Pride and Prejudice (Thursday 3 August).
Also audiences can enjoy Titipu Tea in the Guthrie Pavilion where singers from Charles Court Opera will serenade a programme of Gilbert & Sullivan over enjoy afternoon tea (Tuesday 4 and Tuesday 18 July).
Charles Court Opera will return to Two Sisters’ Theatre for Come and Sing the Pirates of Penzance (Saturday 22 July) where the audience are invited to join in with the choruses. For those who like a more traditional G&S performance Forbear! Theatre is performing The Gondoliers (Sunday 28 May).
Several of the most popular companies celebrating with us by bringing their latest shows, including Beyond The Barricade (Friday 28 July), New Creations Collective new ballet Nightingale (Thursday 10 Aug), The Last Night of the Hever Proms (Sunday 27 Aug), Ronnie Scott’s All Stars (Sunday 20 Aug), Horrible Histories New Barmy Britain (Monday 14 Aug) and following their success last year, the Guildhall Strings return with The Best of Baroque (Sun 23 July).
A plethora of world-class companies will also be performing with us for the first time including Wild Arts with their performance of The Elixir of Love (Friday 11 & Saturday 12 Aug), opera packed with big
tunes, romance, and mischievous comedy, sung in English. The Duke’s Theatre Company with Twelfth
Night (Monday 28 August), and there’s plenty of opportunity to dance the night away with The Ultimate ABBA Experience (Saturday 29 July), Swinging at the Cotton Club (Sunday 30 July), The Dolly Show (Friday 25 August) and How Sweet It Is -The Greatest Hits of Motown (Saturday 26 Aug).
Set in the award-winning gardens of Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn history is always at the heart of our festival and this year is no exception. The Countess of Roden will be giving a talk to launch her new book, The Boleyns in Context (Thursday 1 June) and her new play The Sphere of Light set at Hever Castle will premiere with us (Friday 4 and Saturday 5 August).
Hever Castle’s Assistant Curators Dr Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey will present their new talk
on the current exhibition at Hever Castle, Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers (Wednesday 2 August) and the ground-breaking discoveries found within Anne Boleyn’s Book of Hours.
The comic genius of Alan Ayckbourn is back by popular demand with his play A Chorus of Disapproval (Friday 18 and Saturday 19 August) and award winning Grinstock Comedy Club will amuse us with 2 nights of the country’s leading comedians from the TV and UK circuit (Friday 2 June and Wednesday 23 Auguse).
This year the festival will also include performances at our neighbour’s and will be holding our first ever event at Hever Castle Golf Club; Dinner Jazz with saxophonist Heather Hoyle, energetic and full of original music at The Waterside Bar Restaurant & Terrace (Saturday 24 June).
There is also an opportunity to visit two castles in one day as we bring three family events to The Orangery at Chiddingstone Castle, The Grimm Sisters (Sunday 30 July), Peter Pan by Slapstick Picnic (Sunday 13 Aug) and The Jungle Book (Sunday 20 Aug).
There’s plenty of family entertainment at Hever too with classic tales Robin Hood (Friday 2 June) and The Wizard of Oz (Tuesday 25 July) alongside a celebration of the modern classic The Wimpy Kid Show (Wednesday 2 August) learning to draw Jeff Kinney’s zaney characters and David Walliams’ Bad Dad (Wednesday 30 August).
Book your visit to Hever Castle & Gardens.
Within the grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, there are two opportunities for you to stay the night with us.
Hever Castle has played host to many important events and celebrations for over 600 years. In 1903 when William Waldorf Astor set about restoring Hever Castle to its former glory, he added the Astor Wing, to accommodate his family and guests, before creating a lake and the spectacular Italian Garden to house his impressive collection of ancient Greek and Roman statuary.
There are multiple places to eat & drink across the Hever Castle Estate. Select between the Castle & Gardens and Golf Club below to discover more.
Set in the mature grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, Hever Castle Golf Club is a 27 hole Kent golf course that will encourage and inspire all golf enthusiasts.
Set in the mature grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, the Wellbeing Centre consists of five smart treatment rooms.
