Delight after Lytham Hall open air theatre programme extended

The news of the expanded programme of open air theatre at Lytham Hall this coming summer, revealed recently in The Diary, has been widely welcomed.
Bumper attendance at a previous Lytham Hall outdoor playBumper attendance at a previous Lytham Hall outdoor play
Bumper attendance at a previous Lytham Hall outdoor play

The ninth season of outdoor performances will see five plays staged at the Hall instead of four and, in a further innovation, Illyria’s productions of The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Pirates of Penzance will feature on consecutive weekend evenings on August 18 and 19.

Victoria Cornwall, managing director of The Glendower Hotel in St Annes, one of the business Patrons for the 2018 season, said: “The theatre weekend coincides with the 1940’s Festival on Lytham Green which attracts 20,000 people to the town, so I am sure many of them will be interested in an evening production in the delightful surroundings at Lytham Hall.”

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Chapterhouse Theatre Company will launch the 2018 season with Richard Main’s production of Little Women, adapted for the stage by Laura Turner, on Sunday June 17 at 6pm.

Pat Booth, from Plackitt and Booth’s bookshop in Clifton Street, Lytham, said:“The widely-praised BBC TV version shown at Christmas has brought Little Women right back into the public eye.”

Volunteers and Friends of Lytham chairman Lambert Dopping-Heppenstall is not fazed by the extra workload for his team of volunteers who organise the parking, meeting and greeting and refreshments for each play

“It’s the personal touch which the visitors to the plays really appreciate,” he said.

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“Whatever we ask the Friends to do, they do it willingly and with a smile.”

Oliver Gray, artistic director of Illyria, is relishing the opportunity to bring his new production of The Merchant of Venice on Sunday July 8 to Lytham Hall, one of his company’s favourite venues.

He said: “It’s excellent news that the programme is expanding.

“The audiences are always so responsive and knowledgeable at Lytham Hall and I think this is a really good move.”

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Theatre organiser Julian Wilde said: “I have received very many encouraging and supportive comments in the last few days.”

He added: “Feedback has been entirely positive and I hope to confirm the details of the family show on Sunday August 26 very shortly now.”

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