New Forest Open Air Theatre has launched a fundraising campaign to build a 300-seat seasonal theatre in the woods at Hinton Admiral, aiming to open for the 2027 summer season.
The company that took Shakespeare into the woods when the theatres were shut is now trying to build itself somewhere to work. New Forest Open Air Theatre has launched a fundraising campaign for a 300-seat seasonal theatre on the Hinton Admiral Estate near Burley, and hopes to open it for the 2027 summer season. It would be the company's first home base since it was founded in 2020.
The site matters as much as the building. The 5,500-acre estate already has parking, utilities, catering and visitor facilities, which is where the money usually goes on an outdoor venue before a single seat is built. A membership and patron scheme launches today alongside approaches to individuals, businesses, charitable trusts and foundations, and the campaign is for the final tranche of funding rather than the whole cost.
The theatre is designed by Natalie Skeete of Forest Architecture, a local practice, with theatre consultants Charcoal Blue and designer James Turner. It sits in a naturally occurring basin in the woodland, is crafted from coppiced timber cut on the surrounding land, and is taken down at the end of each season so the site returns to woodland for the rest of the year.
The patrons are a substantial list for a company of this size: Mark Rylance, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Lenny Henry, Dan Snow, Geraldine Somerville and Lady Candida Meyrick, who is also the landowner.
"I am so happy to be a patron of the beautiful New Forest Open Air Theatre. There is nowhere like it," said Judi Dench. "A glorious mix of theatre and trees; what could be better?"
Artistic director Abbey Wright said: "This project brings together world-class theatre, community engagement and access to nature in a way that is unique to the New Forest. Our ambition is to create a venue that delivers outstanding cultural experiences while remaining accessible, sustainable and rooted in its local landscape. There is such scope for telling bold and epic stories in the woods. Imagine fairies appearing from the glade and kings riding in on horseback. But there is also a great intimacy in the cradle of the trees and it is so moving to see the figure of a human standing next to the figure of an ancient tree searching for meaning, underneath the stars."
Marcel Bruneau, chair of trustees, put the case in regional terms: "We believe this project has the potential to become a significant cultural and community asset for the region, creating opportunities for audiences, artists, young people and isolated individuals, while contributing to the visitor economy and supporting sustainable tourism in the New Forest."
The longer ambition is a producing house for professional outdoor theatre, with community participation, outdoor learning and wellbeing work alongside it; the company already works with Culture in Common on reaching isolated communities. It was founded in 2020, when theatres across the country closed and it began staging pop-up work in the woods, among it A Midsummer Night's Dream, and has since built an audience across Hampshire and Dorset with Shakespeare, family theatre and seasonal events.
The first programme of work for the new theatre is to be announced. Details of the membership and patron scheme are on the company's own supporter page.
