Wilde Theatre
A theatre was first proposed when south Hill Park became an arts centre. It didn’t become a reality until the construction of The Wilde Theatre 1982–4. The design brief was to be able to cater for small and large events, formal and informal.
1982
The architect was Axel Burrough of the architectural practice Lewitt Bernstein. He and Iain Mackintosh designed the theatre on the principal of a courtyard theatre as used in Shakespeare’s time.
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A partnership of the local community and businesses provided the funding. To keep costs down there was never any intention to build in the existing style of South Hill Park. Red bricks, like those in the main house were used though.
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Building work began in November 1982. John Amis and Sir Henry Lushington, whose ancestor was an owner of South Hill Park, moved the first sod. The Wilde Theatre opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday 15 May 1984. Click the PDF logo below to see a Wilde Theatre Programme from the theatre's inaugural year.
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WILDE THEATRE
PROGRAMME 1984
Modern use
The Wilde Theatre is currently home to 330 seats and a wonderful, large stage. This helps to keep the values of the arts alive in the hearts of the community while providing a thrilling day out. South Hill Park's theatre productions often taken a medieval form of entertainment and turn it into something more modern that people of all ages are free to enjoy.
As we continue into the more present days of 2010-20s, the Wilde Theatre can be seen hosting an average of almost 300 productions and events every year. This has included many family favourites such as "Peter Pan", "Madagascar", "Cinderella", "Aladdin", "Narnia", "Shrek: the musical" and our upcoming Christmas pantomime "Jack and the beanstalk" (25th Nov - 31st Dec 2022)!
The Wilde Theatre is regularly hired out by external companies for their own productions to use the Wilde Theatre and stage. Performances and shows have included "Frankenstein", "Dracula", "Matilda: the musical, "The Bon Jovi experience" and "Romesh Ranganathan: irrational & support".
Further wonderful use of the theatre is providing Easter schools for youth to put on amateur productions. Some great examples of these are "Seussical", a musical based on the brilliant works of Dr Seuss, and "Oliver!"
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