Lavender Theatre pauses productions for upgrade works

Lavender Theatre in Surrey will embark on a year-long hiatus for upgrade works to take place.

The open-air theatre in Epsom said it will pause productions following its launch last year after it was decided that further work – including reinforcing audience footpaths and relocation of dressing-room facilities closer to the backstage areas – was required.

Artistic Director and co-founder Joe McNeice told The Stage the decision was made after the planning process for the changes "dragged on."

"We are in a greenfield space, in a lavender field, and building a theatre out of nothing was a lot of work, and there were still some things we wanted to improve on," he said.

"The problem was [the planning] got approved far too late, and so it became impossible for us to take that financial risk so late in the day to get everything ready for what we perceived might be quite a rushed season."