Due to the success of the festival, as we grow in size & scope, we are adding new additional venues in the north Cotswolds to provide variety, increased capacity and an opportunity to showcase other arts organisations.
We are delighted to announce an exciting new venue for in 2021. Theatrebarn is a hidden gem of a theatre, in a unique setting in the stunning Worcestershire village of Bretforton, between Broadway and Stratford upon Avon.
The auditorium is within a Medieval barn, lovingly and sympathetically converted into a stunning theatre experience that combines unique, often one-off performances with post show dining and a convivial, memorable evening.
Some forty years ago in 1979, James Wellman, an actor at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and his partner, David Swift, an Escoffier chef, decided that they wanted to run their own theatre. They bought Bretforton Grange in the beautiful Cotswolds village of Bretforton, a Medieval grange with a long gallery and a vaulted stone undercroft. Two years of planning and work resulted in the opening performance by Dame Peggy Ashcroft and James Walker in that year. There were many distinguished performances by people like Rita Hunter, Paul Scofield and Emlyn Williams.
In the early nineties, they bought the group of barns behind the house including a magnificent Medieval barn which was converted into a 180 seat theatre and the adjoining barns became the foyer and restaurant. Following the deaths of James and David, the charitable trust that they founded took over operation of the Theatrebarn to continue their theatrical work, no longer as a private club, but now to be enjoyed by a much wider audience.
We think our festival visitors and audiences will really love this new venue as much as we do and we can’t wait to welcome you all back to the north Cotswolds in June!
