Marlowe Theatre to Celebrate 5th Anniversary

THE MARLOWE Theatre, Canterbury, has announced details of its fifth anniversary celebrations in October, and everyone is invited to join in.

Marlowe 5 is a weekend of festivities on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October. Free entertainment and events will be held in and around the theatre on both days, while an anniversary gala performance on the Sunday will include world-class theatre companies who have appeared at The Marlowe in the last five years.

Proceeds from the gala performance ticket sales will go to The Marlowe Theatre's new Creative Opportunities Fund. Theatre Director Mark Everett said: "This supports projects that inspire and empower local communities as theatre-makers and theatre-goers."

Marlowe 5 will include two exciting new productions co-created by The Marlowe Theatre. Mobile is an inventive show about class, family, aspiration and belonging, and takes place in a caravan. Performed to an audience of just eight people at a time, it is based on personal testimonies collected in community workshops in Kent and elsewhere.

Created by renowned theatre company The Paper Birds, Mobile will take place on The Marlowe forecourt.

A group of local artists, young people, and world-famous poet and writer Lemn Sissay present an original installation in The Marlowe Studio in collaboration with Wise Words Festival.

Warrior Poets will feature work from children in care in Kent whose poems have inspired an immersive installation, along with a headline performance from Lemn on 9 October.

Mark Everett said the Marlowe 5 celebrations are the culmination of five years' growth and success: "It's our chance to say thank you to our customers for their loyal and amazing support and we hope to see as many of them as possible over the weekend.

"We are still finalising plans, but I can reveal that two of the acts confirmed for Gala Night are the National Theatre (with an appearance by War Horse Joey) and the Philharmonia orchestra. I'm also delighted that Ben Roddy, better known as our pantomime dame, will be hosting the event."

The icing on the Marlowe 5 birthday cake is the chance for customers to win a luxury holiday in Mauritius, courtesy of Kuoni Travel, Canterbury, as part of a prize draw.

Anyone buying tickets for Marlowe Theatre shows (including the gala performance) can also buy a ticket to enter the draw to win the week for two in Mauritius. The prize, which is worth up to £7,000, includes flights and transfers, and half-board accommodation in a superior room. There are selected dates, and the holiday must be taken by 30 April 2017. Tickets for the prize draw cost £2 and are unlimited.

Tickets for the prize draw can also be purchased without buying theatre tickets. Proceeds from the draw will also go to The Marlowe's Creative Opportunities Fund.

Jayne Lambert, store manager of Kuoni Travel, Canterbury, said: "We are delighted to help The Marlowe celebrate their 5th birthday with this special holiday prize and we look forward to meeting the lucky winners! It is wonderful to be supporting the theatre's Creative Opportunities Fund in this way and we see it as the start of a great journey together for our two organisations."

Since opening on 4 October 2011, The Marlowe has become one of this country's most successful regional venues and brought some of the world's greatest theatre companies to Kent. These include the National Theatre, the RSC, Glyndebourne (opera), Matthew Bourne (dance) and the Philharmonia (orchestra).

The Marlowe Studio has also gone from strength to strength, and now has a highly-regarded programme of Contemporary Theatre, comedy and music, providing vital opportunities for aspiring writers and makers of new theatre. Linked to this are The Marlowe's own productions and co-productions.

Over the last five years, The Marlowe Theatre has developed its programme of creative activity, and now offers classes for all ages in theatre, playwriting and dance. Participants are able to take part in The Marlowe's annual community production.

The Marlowe works with hundreds of schoolchildren every year, some with leading arts organisations such as the RSC. The theatre's trainee schemes have so far given 15 young people the opportunity to develop successful careers in the industry.

The Marlowe Theatre Development Trust (a registered charity which raised more than £4.28 million towards building the new theatre), have granted more than £500,000 to support the work of the theatre's creative projects team, including the Marlowe Youth Theatre Bursary Fund.

Tickets for Gala Night are £35, £50 and £75 (booking fee applies) and go on sale to Marlowe Friends on Monday 11 July and the general public on Monday 1 August; call the Box Office on 01227 787787, or go to marlowetheatre.com. Friends' memberships are available to buy from £25.

Pharon Independent Financial Advisers Limited are the principal sponsors of Marlowe 5. This is in addition to Pharon's continued support of the Philharmonia's Marlowe Theatre residency.

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