Rose Theatre Kingston to Close to the Public

Rose Theatre Kingston has released the following statement regarding upcoming performances:

We are all living through unprecedented and uncertain times. Like many of you, we have been closely following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The health, safety, and well-being of our staff, artists, audiences, and members of our loyal communities has and always will be our highest priority.

After carefully considering the Government's announcement yesterday (16 Mar) we have taken the difficult, but necessary, decision to close the Rose to the public.

All shows and events at the Rose starting from today, Tuesday 17 March, will be suspended until further notice or until the advice we receive changes. Our Rose Participate events have been suspended until further notice and our building will be closed to the public from tomorrow, Wednesday 18 March. Box Office will still be contactable by phone and email from 10am - 6pm. The team will be in touch with affected customers regarding further information over the next few days.

We are also extremely aware of our employees' financial dependence on the Rose and continuing ticket sales are vital to our existence. The Rose is a registered charity that receives no regular Arts Council funding, and the implications of this closure will be financially overwhelming for us. Ticket sales make up the majority of our earned income, which together with contributions from our stakeholders, donors and sponsors will allow us to commission artists, produce new work and deliver our artistic and community programmes for many years to come. If you are in a position to support the Rose financially now, whether through donating the equivalent value of your ticket or making a stand-alone donation, we would be enormously grateful.

Whilst our wonderful home will remain dark for a while, we are doing all that we can to pull through this extraordinary situation and safeguard the future of your Rose. Our upcoming autumn season remains on schedule as planned and includes a two-week run of SIX, our Rose Original co-production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Merchant of Venice and our recently announced Christmas production, Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you to all our audiences for their unwavering support so far. We have no doubt that the Rose will remain an ever-present, thriving cultural hub at the heart of Kingston. As the situation develops, we will post updates on social media and on our website.

Take care of each other, stay resilient and we'll see you on the other side.

The Rose team