The Stage

Rose of Kingston will open in 2006 if £3m loan approved

Published Tuesday 7 June 2005 at 14:10

Peter Hall’s Rose of Kingston Theatre will open in September 2006 if a plan by the local council to loan the venue £3 million is passed later this week.

Earlier this year, Kingston council was urged to carefully consider the risks involved with its investment in the theatre, after an independent report from the Audit Commission found that funds for the project were lacking and that the scheme was running behind schedule.

However, since then, the council has established a partnership with the theatre in the hope of attracting increased investment and believes that, by advancing the venue sufficient public funds to complete fitting it out, private investors will be encouraged to give money.

Kingston University has also pledged £500,000 to the scheme and proposals for the £3 million loan will go before the council executive this week, with the local authority assuring that while negotiations have been time-consuming and complex, the future of the theatre is safe.

Leader of the council Derek Osbourne said: “We must seize this window of opportunity and make the most of the opportunities presented by the theatre at this key stage in its development, and the incredible experience and skill Sir Peter is prepared to bring.”

When completed, the Rose will host its own company, with Hall currently programming work for its inaugural season. Together with Kingston University, the theatre will also launch a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Classical Acting, which will become the first course of its kind in the UK, where students, once qualified, can gain direct entry into a professional acting company.

Hall, director of the Rose, commented: “Rose of Kingston is a theatre unique in the world. With its 1,000 seats and incredible intimacy between actors and its audience, it has already been acclaimed by leaders of the theatre profession, the media, and, most important of all, the public. When the theatre - even in the present unfinished state - opened its doors with As You Like It last December, the excitement at its potential was palpable.

“Now, at last, through an innovative and successful approach by the Royal Borough of Kingston Council in establishing a property company to attract substantial investment in the theatre, this potential can be realised. Such investment has been found and, as a result, Rose of Kingston can, during the summer, begin a complete fit-out. Once this is finished, the theatre will open for business next year.”