Spring 2008

September '08
Le Grand Cirque
Can't Smile Without You
Horrible Histories
With compliments... Gary Wilmot
Best Of British Variety
Dennis Locorriere
An Audience With Sally Morgan
Don Cossacks State Dance Company
Puccini La Boheme
Russell Howard - Dingledodies
My One And Only
'Allo 'Allo!

October '08
Four Poofs And A Piano
The Illgal Eagles
The Lady Boys Of Bangkok
Forever Blowing Bubbles
Joe Brown
The Orchestra - Former Members of ELO & ELO Part I
Our House
Grimethorpe Colliery Band
DAODS - Jekyll & Hyde The Musical
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

November '08
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
Paddy McGuinness
That'll Be The Day
The Vagina Monologues
Maximum Rhythm 'n' Blues
Kylie Mania
All The Fun Of The Fair

Dec '08 - Jan '09 Pantomime
Peter Pan

January '09
Roy Chubby Brown
One Night of Queen
Beyond The Barricade
Nelson Riddle Orchestra Direct from the USA!

HIRING THE ORCHARD THEATRE

• The Orchard Theatre can provide a range of facilities and services for various types of events. Anything from conferences, seminars, through to a full West End stage show. The theatre's central Dartford location within the Thames Gateway regeneration area, close to the rail station, car parks, and the intersection of M25, M2, and M20 motorways make it an ideal location for both local and international promotional events and corporate hospitality.
• The upper bar area, located on the first floor above the main entrance. can accommodate 100 people seated theatre style, 80 at tables, or a standing reception/buffet for two 200. It has a light and airy aspect, the rich red carpeting and decorative structure contrasting with the greens of the tropical planting. The full bar and catering facilities make it an ideal environment for product and service awareness sessions, small seminars, meetings and training events... or even a cream tea for a group of friends.
• The main auditorium and stage, served by the lower and upper and foyers, provides comfortable theatre-style seating for up to 917. We have a fully equipped theatre stage area exceeding 100 square metres and state of the art lighting and audio equipment. The Orchard’s proximity to London make the theatre very suitable for audience-based television and radio productions and for conference-style events.

Availability

The Orchard Theatre programmes and promotes a wide range of touring entertainment productions throughout the year, in three seasons - Autumn (September to December), Winter/Spring (January to April) and Summer (May to July). August is normally closed to allow time for maintenance work to be carried out. Although the upper bar is separate from the main auditorium its availability is dependent on the theatre's other activities. The main auditorium has restricted availability during the period September to April, with a requirement that any use is compatible with the entertainment programme. May to August is less restrictive with attractive discounts on hire rates for local amateur performance groups.

Who to contact

If you are interested in using the upper bar area or wish to discuss bar and catering facilities please contact the Front of House Manager on 01322 220099.

If you are interested in using the main auditorium please write to the Theatre Manager with your request Indicating - the type of event, preferred dates and presentation times, duration of the presentations, numbers involved and a brief summary about the organisation. If accepted the dates will be pencilled into the programme and you will be sent a "Request to hire form". The information on the form is used by us to assess the logistical and financial viability of your proposal prior to us issuing a formal contract. Please note that you should not publicise or consider the event confirmed until the contract has been signed.

Do you need more information?

If you would like more information, to discuss the feasibility of a proposed event, or would like us to arrange a special, tailored hospitality package please contact the Business Manager on 01322 220099 or e-mail orchard.theatre@dartford.gov.uk

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