Visitors to Hever Castle & Gardens this summer are being met with a striking sight within the historic setting: a huge auditorium, towering 20m high, with capacity for a giant stage 40 metres wide, and able to seat an audience that could number up to 1,800 people a time.
The auditorium is the grand setting for nothing less than a world premiere, namely Anne Boleyn: The Musical, which is being performed at Hever in the evenings for much of August.
Created by the renowned Historalia Productions, a company with a reputation for treating audiences to lavish, historical spectacles and for “breathing new life into stories”, the two-hour show has the most perfect setting for the drama to unfold. It is, of course, taking place in the grounds of the iconic castle where Henry VIII’s second queen spent her childhood years.
Oli Bagwell Purefoy, Production Manager for GBA, has the job of delivering all technical elements. Leading a team of set builders, site managers, engineers, carpenters and a sound and lighting crew, he is making sure that everything is ready for the 70-strong acting cast to start to create their magic.
Oli has overseen a three-week build of the auditorium, planning each day’s construction schedule, lasting from morning until night, before on-set rehearsals start in earnest at Hever from Monday 21 July.
An experienced stage manager, with more than a decade of working on top West End shows, Oli says that leading the preparations for Anne Boleyn: The Musical has been an exhilarating process, albeit one that has thrown him one or two challenges.
“We’ve certainly had our work cut out across three intense weeks of the set build, and it’s been all hands on deck,” he says. “We’ve been contending with the heat, on occasions some rain, and it’s been a testing schedule with long days, but there is great satisfaction in seeing everything start to take shape.
“There will definitely be a ‘wow’ factor for audiences when they step inside the auditorium for the first time, and that’s very inspiring for those of us who are making Historalia’s vision of a thoroughly immersive show come to life.
“One of the first issues we had to tackle is that our installation is on a bit of a hill. We needed some additional engineering to smooth it all out, while keeping to a tight schedule and, of course, fully respecting the Hever grounds and heritage. It’s essential that we leave any part of the grounds we’re using in perfect order once we depart.”
Front of house tents (dealing with hospitality) and back of house tents (dressing rooms and offices) have also been factored into Oli’s master plan, as well as allowing for walk-pasts of the show’s horses.
Hever Castle itself will form a part of the set, too, with characters going to and from the Castle across a specially constructed bridge, and it will even be illuminated during the second half of the production.
“Preparing for this show at Hever has been a different world to working on a West End production,” Oli says. “There, you are obviously limited by the four walls of the theatre, plus they are pre-equipped with dressing rooms, bars and so on, whereas here we’ve been building our auditorium and set literally from zero, from the ground up.
“As we’re working on such a massive scale, that has been a test of creativity, too, one that a normal theatre doesn’t offer in quite the same way.
“As the Creative and Production team, we’ve come at this from a fresh perspective, doing our very best to complement the sheer creativity and spectacle of the performances. It’s so exciting to see how it will all turn out.”
The unique musical will take audiences on Anne’s extraordinary journey, from her emotional farewell to her family at Hever and then her experiences in the courts of Flanders and France. Her return to England follows, where she catches the attention of King Henry VIII.
In what promises to be a truly groundbreaking feature, each audience member will wear a personal headset, allowing them to experience all the drama in an immersive and intimate way.
Tickets are still on sale and early booking is recommended. West End performer Emily Lane will play the title role, leading a professional cast of established musical theatre names, alongside a 35-strong community ensemble drawn from Kent. Children playing the young Anne and George Boleyn are among the community cast.
Find out who is in the cast here.
Learn more about the people behind the production here.
Watch Emily Lane perform “YOU”, a song that she will perform in the show.
* Note for Hever Castle & Gardens visitors. Anne Boleyn: The Musical consists of evening performances in August, held on Church Lawn, which is an area away from main visitor pathways and key attractions. Guests can fully enjoy and experience the Castle and Gardens, as normal, during the day.
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.
