Hertford Theatre Week 2025

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.

Hertford Theatre Week 2024 took to the stage on Monday 27th May to Saturday 1st June.

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.

If you want to be sure not to miss any updates why not click or tap the button on the right and join our email list to be kept up to date with this, and other, Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society productions? It only takes a moment, we don't send hundreds of emails, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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

Programme for 2014

The programme for 2014 featured 6 productions:

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, presented by The Company Of Players
The Accrington Pals by Peter Whelan, presented by Barn Theatre Club
Days Of Wine and Roses by Owen McCafferty, presented by White Cobra Productions
The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov, translated by Tom Stoppard, presented by Water Lane Theatre Company
Shadowlands by William Nicholson, presented by Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society
Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter, presented by Be-Jou Productions

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Information & Tickets

Doors open at 7:15pm with curtain up at 7:45pm.

You can purchase tickets for individual performances or for the entire week.

Weekly tickets cost £38, with nightly tickets priced at £12.

AVAILABLE FROM MARCH 4th 2014

Tickets may be purchased with cash, cheque, Maestro, Visa or MasterCard from the Box-Office,
by telephone on 01992 531500, or online at www.hertfordtheatre.com

For postal bookings please send a stamped addressed envelope with your cheque payable to EHDC to:

Hertford Theatre Week Bookings, The Box Office, Hertford Theatre, The Wash, Hertford SG14 1PS

The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm

Hertford Theatre Week is an adjudicated Drama Competition and a qualifying festival for the National Drama Festivals Association All-Winners Festival.

In fairness to the competing teams latecomers will not normally be admitted to the auditorium until a suitable break in the performance.

Weekly Ticket holders are eligible to vote for the Audience Appreciation Award on the final evening.

The presentation of the awards will take place after the Saturday performance.

Please note, in extreme circumstances, the programme may be subject to change without notice. Refunds can only be given if there is no performance.

Let us keep in touch

If you would like receive information about Hertford Theatre Week and other Hertford Dramatic& Operatic Society forthcoming productions by email please click here to join our contact list.

Thank you.

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Adjudicator for 2014

Mike Tilbury, GODA

Mike Tilbury has been actively involved in theatre all his life and divides his time between acting, directing and adjudicating. He is a Council Member of the Guild of Adjudicators, a position he has held on a number of occasions, and as a past Chairman he played a key role in bringing about considerable change and modernisation within the Guild. He is currently Chairman of the Drama Festivals Consortium.

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Cover for flyer of 2024 Hertford Theatre Week

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