by Sian Napier

snapier@thekmgroup.co.uk

Prince Edward will open Canterbury’s £25 million Marlowe Theatre at a special gala evening.

The Earl of Wessex, who is the royal patron of the theatre’s fundraising campaign, and his wife Sophie will both attend the opening performance on October 4, which theatre director Mark Everett said would be an orchestral evening with an operatic flavour.

“This will be Canterbury council’s way of thanking the people who have helped in building this theatre, the idea of which goes back nine years,” Mr Everett said.

“It is the city’s opportunity to say thank you to all those who have supported this theatre.”

Names of Marlowe Friends will go into a ballot for tickets to the gala opening and others will be given away as competition prizes in this paper and other local media.

The Marlowe’s second brochure has just been produced, with details of all shows up to summer next year.

Top Hat will be the Marlowe’s first musical, coming in November on a pre-West End run.

Mr Everett said: “It has had fantastic reviews. We would never have had this show in the old Marlowe because it would not have fitted and we could not have sold enough tickets.”

So far, 52% of tickets have been sold – the highest advance sales of any other venue on the tour.

Mr Everett said the new theatre would offer a more intimate feel, with the seating closer to the stage, improving its capabilities as a playhouse.

The Madness of King George, being staged in October, had received good reviews in the national press, with some critics saying it was David Haig’s finest performance, Mr Everett said.

Several one-night shows, including Pam Ayres and Al Murray, have almost sold out and tickets for Stephen Merchant are going fast.

There are just a few tickets left for the first of four concerts by the Philharmonia Orchestra on November 26 featuring cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
Cirque Eloize, the Marlowe’s first one-week show, is the British premiere of a production by the Montreal based company.

“This is another one we could never have put on in the old Marlowe and we are two-thirds on the way to selling this,” Mr Everett said.

“Yes, Prime Minister is the stage version of the television series and is just as effective and hard-hitting and I am delighted that we have this coming to the Marlowe.”

In June the Marlowe will become one of the first regional venues to host the hit musical Legally Blonde and in November 2012, Glyndebourne On Tour will make its debut performance at the Marlowe.

See this week's Gazette and Faversham News for full details of forthcoming events at the Marlowe Theatre.