Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure a venue for the 2025 drama festival, so for the first time in our 61 years history, apart from the Covid years, we will not be able to present Hertford Theatre Week this spring.
However, we are optimistic we will be back in 2026, so please, whether you are reading this as a potential audience member or part of a competing theatre group, keep an eye on our website when later in the year we hope to be able to publish more information about Hertford Theatre Week 2026.
After a successful 60th Hertford Theatre Week in 2023 we are pleased to have repeated that success in 2024 at the Ayckbourn Theatre in the splendid setting of the Haileybury College campus, just three miles from Hertford town centre.
A little later in the year than last year we were worried if that would affect our audience numbers, but those fears were unfounded as we played to effectively full houses all week, so a big thank you to all that supported us.
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Steve Onyon
Chairman
The festival was instigated when a small committee from Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society, investigating the possibilities of further stimulating amateur drama, invited neighbouring societies and drama groups to perform one of their own productions under festival conditions. With rules agreed and sufficient support promised to ensure a full week's programme of six different plays, 1962 saw the first Hertford Theatre Week.
Sponsorship of the first ten years was provided by the directors of the Hertfordshire Mercury and County Press, the publishers of our local newspaper and supporters of local drama. Since 1972 Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society has not only been the hosts and organisers but also the main sponsors.
In recent years the festival has been completely self-financing and, unlike many full-length play festivals which draw sponsorship from their local authority or commercial organisations, our only revenue comes from the Box Office sales.
Hertford Theatre Week is run by a team of unpaid volunteers from HD&OS, some of whom give up a week of their annual holiday to work on the competition, and whose only reward is their love of theatre and the satisfaction of being involved in what has become recognised as one of the leading full-length drama competitions in the country.
Since 1986 the Hertford competition has been affiliated to the National Drama Festivals Association and we are proud to say that in a number of past years, Hertford Theatre Week provided the winner of the NDFA National Drama Festival (formerly the British All-Winners Drama Festival).
More information on the NDFA can be found at www.NDFA.co.uk
The programme for 2010 featured 6 productions:
Like A Virgin by Gordon Steel, presented by In Yer Space
Moonshine by Jim Nolan, presented by The Bovingdon Players
The Sociable Plover by Tim Whitnall, presented by The Heath Players
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer & Jess Winfield, presented by Katalyst Productions
Burn This by Lanford Wilson, presented by Be-Jou Productions
Art by Yasmina Reza, presented by The Company of Players
This will be the 49th year of the Hertford drama festival for
full-length plays, and I sincerely hope you read on and perhaps
consider entering, if not this year, then perhaps in the near future.
In
terms of audience the Hertford festival is alive and well, but as with
a large number of festivals (and also one-act festivals), attracting
entries in these busy and financially straightened times is a perennial
problem.
Please note,
and especially if you are a regular entry in the festival, or have not
previously found our regular date at the end of April convenient, that
the 2010 festival is one month earlier than usual - the performance
dates being Monday 22nd March to Saturday 27th March.
This is
because our venue in Hertford is planned to be closed for a major
refurbishment of the foyer and audience facilities from April 1st 2010.
In 2011 we hope to return to our regular time of late April.
However,
I would be interested in any feedback on the relative merits of both
dates in relation to your own schedules, whether or not you decide to
submit an entry.
I am pleased to say our very experienced and
dedicated committee and technical team are continuing in their posts
for 2010, so I am confident we can offer a friendly and well organised
event. We all strive for professionalism in our presentation of
Hertford Theatre Week, but recognise that you, like ourselves, are in
the \'Am-Dram\' game not only to present our audiences with a superb
performance, but also for our personal enjoyment and satisfaction. This
is important and we try very hard not to lose sight of it in running
our Festival.
We are fortunate to have a well-equipped theatre
in Hertford at our disposal. The building, owned and operated by East
Herts Council, seats almost 400. We have a good rapport with the
theatre management and their co-operation is an invaluable asset. Where
necessary, we supplement the theatre equipment with our own, or hire if
appropriate.
This Festival is self-financing, and we have no
grants. We try very hard to maintain our ticket prices to give the best
value for money and this policy, I am sure, helps to keep our seats
filled. Ticket prices have been held at the same level for the last
three years, but I fear that for 2010 we may have to consider an
increase, we shall see when we set our budget later in the year.
We do pay expenses, based on your distance from Hertford, and we endeavour to make them as generous as the budget allows.
This
year it will be a great pleasure to welcome back to Hertford Paul
Fowler GODA, an experienced adjudicator, who has adjudicated the
Hertford festival twice before. His CV is available for your perusal
later in this document.
So,
we have the facilities, we have the organisation, we have an audience,
but we need you! Please read on and learn a little more about the
festival, theatre, adjudicator and the Hertford team - none of us bite
and we would love to hear from you!
Steve Onyon
Chairman Hertford Theatre Week
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Thank you.
Paul Fowler is delighted to be making a return visit to Hertford to adjudicate at Hertford Theatre Week for the third time.
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