Mon 23 Jan
The Rose Theatre Kingston has had a busy festive period and is thrilled to announce that its Christmas production of The Wind in the Willows was the Theatre’s most successful Christmas show ever produced, welcomed its one millionth visitor and raised nearly £6,000 for four local charities!
The festive extravaganza saw 46 members of the young company and six professional actors take to the stage for Kenneth Grahame’s classic tale of friendship with nearly 30,000 visitors passing through the doors, making it the most successful Christmas show in the Rose’s history. One of these visitors however marked a very important milestone for the Theatre, which marks its ninth birthday this month; David Crees, from Surbiton has been identified as being the one millionth customer! David was welcomed back to the Theatre and given a ‘golden ticket’ to watch any show at the Rose for free during 2017.
David said, “It’s normally my wife who brings our four children to the Rose, but The Wind in the Willows was the first time I was able to come with them. I never expected to win anything like this and I am looking forward to seeing what shows my family and I can come along to.”
The Theatre was also pleased to name Surrey Wildlife Trust, Joel Community Services, Refugee Action Kingston and the Rose Theatre’s learning and participation programme as the four charities there would be collections for during the run.
Ciaran McConville, Director of The Wind in the Willows and Director of Learning and Participation at the Rose said, “At its heart, The Wind in the Willows was a production about home, community and looking after each other. We wanted our charitable collections to reflect that and to focus on some wonderful local organisations. We’re bowled-over at the generosity of our Christmas audience and look forward to continuing our relationship with other Kingston-based charities.”
Grace Moran, Individual Giving Fundraiser at Surrey Wildlife Trust said, “We are hugely grateful to everyone who contributed to our fundraising collection. The donations will go towards our core work, the conservation of wildlife in Surrey. We manage almost 8,000 hectares of land in Surrey with wildlife in mind and for the enjoyment of local people. Membership subscriptions and voluntary donations are vital to our work. Thank you!”
Sanja Djeric Kane, Director of Refugee Action Kingston said, “It was with an enormous gratitude and delight that we received a donation from its Christmas show. We would like to thank the Rose Theatre for this fantastic initiative and members of the audience who surprised us with their generosity.
“The money received will go towards our Hardship Fund which supports the most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers with life- saving shelter and food. It is wonderful to see the Rose and local community remembering what Christmas is all about – giving, sharing and supporting those in real need. A huge thank you from all at RAK!”
Peter Holmes, Chairman of Joel Community Services said, “We will put the funds towards building much needed built-in-storage units. The units mean we can keep the utilities in one area, clearing a space in which our guests can relax in the evenings and engage with staff during day time activities. We will also now be able to accept donations from our supporters as we had nowhere to safely store large numbers of donations such as self-hygiene packs, toiletries and items guests could take away with them when they go on to move-on accommodation. This will certainly improve our services for our guests.”
For more information about upcoming shows, please visit our What's On page, phone 020 8174 0090, or visit us in person at the Box Office. For more information about the charities, please visit Surrey Wildlife Trust, Joel Community Services and Refugee Action Kingston.