STORYHOUSE REVEAL BIGGEST EVER SUMMER SEASON

Storyhouse has today announced that they will present their biggest ever summer event programme with over 200 events taking place from May.

The news comes after the Government’s lockdown roadmap was announced, which said that outdoor cinemas and theatres would be allowed to operate from 17 May, barring any delays.  

Storyhouse are now planning to open its acclaimed Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre earlier than normal and as early as 22 May, whilst Moonlight Flicks open air cinema will also run from the May half term at Chester Cathedral’s Dean’s Field, along with other flagship venues in the region including Wirral’s Claremont Farm.  

Andrew Bentley, Storyhouse’s CEO said:  

‘Spring is finally here and looking back we’ve had about as good a year as we could manage. The difference has been the incredible help from our community, including over 5,000 who have joined as members and as regular donors.  We’ve raised over £2.5m in this last year to keep us afloat. This support is still crucial to our survival and we are so thankful. We brought some joy at Christmas and now we are about to embark on our longest summer ever.’   

Alex Clifton, Storyhouse’s Artistic Director said:  

We're launching a summer of festivity, joy and healing - together in the sunshine - a real summer of love. We're planning a barn-raising, together-again party with the roof off. Plays and movies and family activities: all of us together in the city’s parks and open spaces, loving our city, and reconnecting with each other, in the summer sunshine." 

Last year, Storyhouse was arguably the county’s busiest cultural venue in lockdown, staging a series of drive-in cinema screenings and open-air cinema at venues across the region and was one of the only theatre’s in the UK to produce a full-size live theatre production in the summer months. Its version of A Christmas Carol ran successfully for four weeks and reached audiences in 14 countries and four continents online. 

Full details of the programme will be announced in the coming weeks and will be on sale first to Storyhouse Card members. All existing bookers for Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre will be contacted as soon as dates are announced. 

Membership for Storyhouse is £4 a month, and you can cancel at any time.  

Find out more at storyhouse.com 

Storyhouse is one of the UK’s foremost cultural charities, its home in Chester incorporates a library, theatres a cinema. It is one of the country’s most successful arts buildings, with more than one million customer visits each year. The pioneering new library within Storyhouse, where members of the community work alongside city librarians, boasts the longest opening hours of any UK public library and is open every day until 11pm. It runs over 2,000 sessions a year for marginalised communities. It is also an acclaimed theatre producer and runs the country’s most successful regional open-air theatre, in the city’s Grosvenor Park and Moonlight Flicks open air cinema and Drive-In. Storyhouse currently holds the official title as the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre and was the overall national winner in the 2018 Guardian Public Service Awards. 

www.storyhouse.com