The Barn Theatre, purpose built as a local community theatre, was opened
in 1924. It is largely constructed of timbers from a local 13th Century
saw-mill and still serves its original purpose of linking the town of
Oxted and the village of Limpsfield to provide a venue for social events.
It now hosts plays, musical evenings and a variety of other entertainments
by resident and non-resident local societies.
Some international
celebrities have 'trodden the boards' at the Barn over the years. In
the early days Dame Flora Robson,
Anna Wing, Lady
Violet Bonham-Carter, Dame Eileen
Joyce, Randolph Churchill, Christopher
Fry and Michael Tippett and recently
Ray Allen and Lord Charles, Roy Castle,
Ronnie Corbett, Richard
Stilgoe and Jimmy Tarbuck have
entertained audiences.
The theatre
seats 244 and is run and maintained by a
team of volunteers, whose efforts over the years have seen many improvements
both technical and aesthetic.
The theatre
has a stage 24' x 18' which is generally
dressed with black legs and curtains or which will accommodate a complete
stage set. There are also dry ice and smoke machines and a hazer, radio
microphones, orchestra stands and lights and an electric piano. The
stage lighting consists of a 48 channel
control desk and a range of lanterns, including two follow-spots, UV,
disco and strobe lighting. The sound, which
is operated from the upper level of the auditorium, includes a mini-disc,
two cassette machines, a CD player, two mixers and five float microphones.
There are loudspeakers both within the auditorium and on stage. There
is also a public address system, a tannoy, a backstage net, a hearing
aid loop and provision for closed circuit television. To the rear of
the stage are three dressing rooms and a fully fitted kitchen. There
is also a bar and sweet shop in the foyer which are usually run by the
Friends of the Barn to raise money for other
works in the theatre.
Behind the
main theatre is the Little Barn which is also available for hire.
If you are
interested in finding out more about the theatre, please contact:
Bruce
Reed,
Oxted and Limpsfield Barn Theatre Ltd, 15a High Street, Westerham, Kent.
Telephone 01959 561811 or Barntheatre@btinternet.com
or visit the theatre any Sunday morning