Double first at Lytham Hall

There’s a double first in prospect at Lytham Hall as the outdoor theatre season opens next Sunday evening June 12. A large audience is expected for Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the first in the summer programme of four open air plays.

Emily-Rose Hurdiss who plays the key lead role of Catherine Earnshaw will be making her first appearance for Lincoln-based Chapterhouse in a show produced by Richard Main.

Emily-Rose who trained at the Bath University and the Oxford School of Drama is looking forward to the most exacting role of her career.

“The success of television series like Downton Abbey have made stage productions of romantic novels very popular right in recent years and this is a very thoughtful adaptation of Emily Brontë’s book by Laura Turner. I feel that my own role is the key to our success and after five weeks of rehearsals in Lincoln I can’t wait for our tour to get started.”

The Chapterhouse cast of eight will come to Lytham Hall at the start of a summer tour of Jane Eyre which will take them to venues throughout England, Scotland Wales and Ireland for 64 performances over the four summer months

Blackpool-trained Aaron Charles who plays the brooding and passionate Heathcliff is looking forward once again to the superb setting Lytham Hall offers for outdoor theatre.

“Lytham Hall’s outdoor arena is quiet and from traffic noise, so we will all relish playing there. Last year we had an enthusiastic reception for our June visit with Jane Eyre and I am optimistic that our tour will get off to an encouraging start in front of a Lytham audience which is always knowledgeable and enthusiastic.”

With some warmer weather early in June advance tickets have been selling very well and open air theatre organiser Julian Wilde is also expecting a large number of enthusiasts to pay at the gate.

“I think that everyone is in the mood to enjoy the array of outdoor events on offer in Lytham this summer, whatever the weather, and I am sure that the picnickers and playgoers will be out in force at Lytham Hall. I am confident that Wuthering Heights will get the season off to a fine start – hopefully in every sense!”

Gates will open at 4.00 pm and the play which starts at 6.00 will finish around 8.30 pm. The audience should bring their own seating and suitably warm clothes.