Trinity Theatre Announces 40th Anniversary Events

In the early 1980s, a group of civic-minded culture-lovers banded together to save a building in the heart of Tunbridge Wells. The community toiled to transform the neglected church into a bastion of the arts for everyone to enjoy. The Trinity Theatre stage saw its first rousing applause in 1982 and for the following 40 years the charity has continued to engage and entertain the local community. To mark Trinity Theatre's 40th year, the August Bank Holiday weekend will be full to the brim with exciting community events devised by a team of party planners made up of staff, board, audience, volunteers and youth theatre members, because for 40 years, Trinity has been about the people who make it.

Sean Turner, Artistic Director comments, Trinity's 40th anniversary is a big milestone and after the tumult of the last couple of years a real chance to celebrate the organisation's resilience. Together with volunteers and members of our youth theatre we have come up with a really varied and exciting programme of events with something for everyone to enjoy and lots of chances to get involved!

The long weekend of celebrations will kick off with the Trinity Variety Show on Friday 26th August. Over the last 40 years, Trinity Theatre has played host to some amazing talent as well as nurturing names that have made their mark on the boards of West End stages as well as behind their scenes. To acknowledge and showcase the brilliant people that make this venue special, Trinity Theatre is calling on performers from across the community to share their talents, be it magic, music, dance, drama or something in-between!

Saturday 27th August will see Trinity Theatre open its doors for a free Summer Fête, jam-packed with family fun including bouncy castles, face painting, a coconut shy, a tombola, and hook-a-duck. This old-fashioned English country fête will be completed with food stalls from local independent businesses and musical entertainment from up-and-coming artists and community groups.

The anniversary celebrations will continue on Saturday night with a traditional Ceilidh. A live band will lead revellers, from first-timers to old-hands, in traditional smile-inducing dances. Trinity Theatre's halls will be filled with Celtic folk music, traditional dancing, and storytelling and guests will be delighted to see the Kitchen & Bar back in full flow, with a menu featuring summer drinks and BBQ food. The night promises to deliver an unforgettable highland fling!

Those who don't overindulge at the Ceilidh are invited to The Great Trinity Muck In on Sunday 28th August. Rooted in Trinity Theatre's community spirit that has always been fuelled by the extraordinary generosity of volunteers, this event aims to celebrate Trinity's past whilst protecting its future. Trinity invite cheerful cleaners, delightful decorators, brilliant bakers, green-fingered gardeners and resourceful repairers to bring their enthusiasm and their skills to help keep Trinity Theatre going for another 40 years! Volunteers will be rewarded with tea and cake, and the community's littlest helpers will be kept busy with an exciting workshop to create a bug hotel and storytime performances in the toy theatre.

Roger Norton, Volunteer and Trinity Archivist comments, I was fortunate to come across Trinity over 20 years ago, and have worked as a volunteer in many different roles ever since. Tunbridge Wells is so fortunate to have at its heart such a lively, friendly and inspiring place for plays, music, films and comedy. I doubt there is a theatre anywhere in the country that can match Trinity's output. We are indeed very blessed to have Trinity at the centre of our local community.

Alongside the call-out to members of the public, Trinity Theatre's youngest supporters have been encouraged to mark this grand birthday by submitting an image to be featured on a collage flag comissioned especially for the anniversary and due to be unveilled at the top of Trinty Theatre's new clocktower.

Later this year, Trinity Theatre will be opening its 200-year-old clocktower for the very first time as it is redeveloped into a unique exhibition space. Visitors will be able to climb the clocktower's new spiral staircase and discover the building's fascinating history; from its origins as a creative Gothic Church designed by renowned architect Decimus Burton in the 1870s, to the community battle that saved it from demolition a century later. The top of the clocktower not only boasts the original clock and bell but will provide unparalleled panoramic views of Tunbridge Wells.

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