From the windswept coastal majesty of Cornwall’s Minack Theatre to the recreated Elizabethan splendour of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, many of Britain’s most enchanting theatres are outdoors. Their seasonal programming means they can ignore the practicalities of the need to open in the middle of winter and instead base everything on being open during balmy late spring and summer nights.
They are, naturally, highly Instagrammable. Almost as Instagrammable as the vibrant lavender fields that city folk descend upon during the warmer months in order to have their photos taken in them.
But what about combining the two? With an admirable dedication to having a name that states exactly what it is, the Lavender Theatre is a new open-air venue that’ll be mounting its first season at Mayfield Lavender Farm on the Epsom Downs in Surrey, just outside London.
Co-founded by director Joe McNeice and Mayfield owner Brendan Maye, the theatre is a culmination of a £2 million investment into the project and it should, frankly, look and smell out of this world.
We don’t know a huge amount about the 250-seat theatre yet in terms of how long its seasons will be or how many show annually. But we do have an inaugural show in the form of a revival of Irving Berlin’s classic musical ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, which will be directed and choreographed by up-and-comer Simon Harwick.
‘Annie Get Your Gun’ runs at the Lavender Theatre, Mayfield Lavender Farm, Jul 17-Aug 5. Buy tickets here.
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