The Old Laundry Theatre

About

In 1991 Roger Glossop, a set designer, and Charlotte Scott, a former stage manager, bought a redundant Edwardian Laundry, with the intention of designing and building The World Of Beatrix Potter Attraction but the award-winning attraction left plenty of space empty and the couple soon realised it could provide a perfect fit for a theatre.  Roger had been working with Alan Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough and noticed that the space available would make a similarly perfect theatre in the round. After consultaion with Alan to ask if he would be willing to bring some of his shows to the theatre the project was born and in a matter of months the Old Laundry Theatre was open.

Alan, Roger and Charlotte's close working relationship continues to this day, with Sir Alan having stuck to his word and sent a play to be performed almost every year since. The theatre has also been lucky to have had many fantastic trustees over the years such as Victoria Wood, Griff Rhys Jones, Alan Rickman and, of course, Alan Ayckbourn.

The small but dedicated team who run the theatre always have a host of new projects in the pipeline including annual in-house productions and new writing. 

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Financially,the theatre relies largely on The World Of Beatrix Potter Attraction alongside small grants from SLDC. 

A few years ago a venue opposite the theatre on Rayrigg Road was aquired - The Old Laundry Studio- Laundrama which now hosts our Bistro and smaller cabaret style events and dining experiences.The theatre Bistro is very popular, providing pre-show meals for most shows and there is a bar available on performance days.

Both venues are avalable to hire (see website for details).

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