Sustainability is at the heart of our Growth & Legacy Project
? n a e m t a h t s e o d t a h W The project is aiming to achieve an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM accreditation, which is an internationally recognised award for sustainability.
BREEAM rated developments help protect natural resources, promote energy efficiency and support the net zero carbon agenda.
The food and drink in our new café will be locally sourced and we're exploring options for closed loop systems, composting for Hertford Castle gardens and more!
By removing our gas supply and using electrically powered air source heat pumps, our carbon footprint will be much smaller. High levels of thermal insulation and intelligent systems will further reduce our energy consumption.
Improving understanding of the Motte and local heritage assets
The Past Hertford Castle is an 11th century motte and bailey castle on the banks of the River Lea. It is one of the best preserved motte and bailey castles in southern Britain. The monument includes a flat-topped motte which stands at the north corner of the castle, just behind Hertford Theatre. Find out more at historicengland.org.uk
The Present For decades, Hertford Motte has been hidden. Rediscovering this important part of Hertford's history will enable the public to enjoy it once again.
e r u t u f e h T We are working with Historic England and the County Archaeologist to ensure any work carried out on the Motte is done properly and any finds reported correctly. In the future, schools will be able to visit and learn on site and the Motte will be visible to visitors as part of the new riverside walk.
Watch us grow Along with improved facilities throughout, there are a few big changes we're making to ensure the arts can be enjoyed in East Herts and further afield for generations to come. what can you look forward to?
3 new cinema screens
We're bringing cinema back to Hertford! With dedicated screens, we'll be able to screen first release films, every day.
1 new studio theatre
With 150 seats, in a versatile space, our new studio theatre will allow for smaller productions to visit and also provide somewhere for community groups to perform.
142 more seats in our auditorium
We're adding a balcony to our auditorium and improving the technical specification so bigger and better performances can visit Hertford.
2 new rooms for hire
Our rooms for hire will be independant from theatre and cinema activity, meaning more availability for community groups and classes to use the spaces.
We will have a first floor dance studio and a ground floor room for hire, suitable for everything from yoga to family music groups to birthday parties for children.
Our LEGACY Our redevelopment is born out of the success of the last 10 years. We're keeping our heart and spirit alive and building on this to reach more people, develop even closer links to our community and assist in the economic growth of our county town. HOW WILL WE DO THIS? Access for all New spaces for socialising
A hugely popular space in town, our cafe will now benefit those using the castle gardens, as well as the new river walkway.
More spaces, more uses
With more spaces available, there will be more opportunities to get involved during the day and evening.
Currently, our backstage is inaccessible to performers who use wheelchairs. Our new building will have accessible facilities for our customers, performers and staff.
A new river walkway Hertford is known for its waterways so we're opening up our riverside location and creating a new walkway into the town and castle park and gardens. This walkway will pass by The Motte, a rediscovered heritage asset for Hertford.
schools & education Every year, we welcome over 6500 children to our Christmas shows. For many, this is the first time they experience live theatre. In early 2021, we were awarded funding from the Royal Opera House Bridge and Arts Council England, we appointed Sharon Kanolik as our Royal Opera House Bridge Consultant to work with Associate Artist, Stuart Mullins and we started to develop our future learning offer to schools throughout East Herts.
? t n a t r o p m i s i h t s i y Wh The arts will play a key role in the post-pandemic recovery, encouraging students to re-engage with learning, creating cross-curricular links, maintaining the good mental health of pupils and teachers alike, and continuing the professional development of all those who work in a school.
Our plan We'll work in closer partnership with schools on the post pandemic recovery and, although we are without a building between June 2021 and Easter 2023, we'll continue to play our part in helping our community feel happier, healthier, safer and proud.
the vision and layout The project aims to put the theatre at the heart of the community, with more space for activities and events, and enable it to become self-sustaining.
1 new studio theatre
3 first floor cinemas plus a bar
1 ground floor Cafe bar kitchen
artist impression of main entrance atrium
1 theatre with a new first floor balcony
Hertford Theatre needs to evolve to meet the demands of the local community. With currently only 1 room, that functions as a theatre and as a cinema, our offer is limited. By developing the building now, we're contributing to future of the arts and securing economic growth for the district.
getting to our new building
We're working with transport and parking specialists to understand journeys into Hertford and parking in the town centre, and how we can best meet those demands. If you do travel to us by car, we'll be helping you choose the best car park for the time of day of your visit. A big part of our project is to encourage greener transport options into Hertford. We'll have large bike parks and we'll be finding ways of making it easier to choose a more sustainable journey. We're also exploring ways in which we can make the council office car park at Wallfields available at peak times. Our Membership scheme will likely have eco-policiies built into it, which will be our way to ensure our members are proactively engaged in the sustainability of our building. We'll be using our unique position next to a beautiful nature corridor and historial site, in a town full of great businesses to create a membership scheme that is built upon more than priority booking.
first look at our ground floor The plan for our ground floor cafe includes maximising the space down the side of the new river walkway. Open all day and catering for a wide of customers, events and activities.
Artist impression, for illustrative purposes
Featuring stylish, comfortable seating, hidden corners for quiet moments and larger tables for groups, we're creating spaces for everyone visiting our ground floor cafe. For classes, head to our ground floor room for hire. You'll also find a lift at the far end of the cafe.
Our cafe will cater for all tastes and operate as a bar, along with a new food menu. We'll be sourcing produce from local businesses and suppliers.
first look at our first floor Our first floor bar will have a main focus - our cinemas. It will be a fantastic place to take in the elevated views of the river, if you're coming to see a film, you'll head here!
Artist impression, for illustrative purposes
At the far end of the first floor bar is our dance studio and lift. Our 3 cinemas will be running all day, 364 days of the year, so this bar needs to be able to serve drinks and snacks quickly.
Our first floor will have some fantastic views across our atrium, giving you a real sense of space and where you are in the venue. You'll be able to look down and spot friends arriving, all whilst enjoying a drink.
first look at our theatre
From an audience view, there's one big change in our main theatre.
We'll be gaining 142 new seats thanks to the addition of balcony seating. In total, we'll have 550 seats and bigger productions will be able to visit.
Artist impression, for illustrative purposes
We're moving to energy efficient lighting, which means reduced overheads and less lightbulb changes! Our working gantry will be exposed! When you look up from your seat, you'll see a production at work. Bespoke, plush new seating and beautiful wood panelling will bring a dash of glamour to our main theatre.
HIDDE N CHA NGES Our stage dock is moving, so we'll be able to load productions straight from a vehicle onto the side of stage. This will make everything safer and easier for our tech team.
first look at our cinemas
What's special about our 3 new first floor screens is that they're dedicated, purpose built cinemas. This means better quality screens, fantastic sound and better seating for watching a film.
Artist impression, for illustrative purposes
We're bringing first release film back to Hertford, the first time since The County Cinema closed in 1982. First release film means we'll screen a film as soon as it's released nationally, meaning you'll be able to watch those special midnight releases with us!
We'll have a 81 seat screen, a 65 seat screen and an 54 seat screen, so these spaces will be intimate and exciting, showing everything from blockbusters to arthouse.
first look at our studio Our new studio theatre will be the home for smaller productions, and an inspiring, creative environment for audiences and performers. This exciting space has 150 seats including a balcony.
Artist impression, for illustrative purposes
This smaller space will be popular for local talent and schools to use, alongside dance shows, interactive family productions and new comedy looking for a more intimate performance space.
Our studio theatre, along with our main theatre, will now be fully accessible, making access easier for performers with additional requirements.
first look at our rooms for hire We understand the importance of community. Our new rooms for hire will be fantastic spaces to inspire all ages and give many the opportunity to become involved in our building.
Our ground floor room for hire is being designed with classes in mind. Running alongside the river, it will also be a great space for children's parties. Our first floor dance studio provides a professional space for the community to hire. Perfect for local schools, rehearsals and dance exams. Our rooms for hire will also sit outside our own programme, meaning we'll be able to faciliate more community activity and more classes.
keep in touch The best way to stay updated with news about our Growth & Legacy Project is to follow us on social media. This is where we'll post news as it happens, along with behind the scenes photos. We'll be introducing you to the team who are building and creating our new venue. You can also subscribe to our regular emails via our website www.hertfordtheatre.com. We hope to see you over at Southern Maltings in Ware for our 2021 Christmas show, Under The Frozen Moon! NOT ONLINE?
We'll be producing a regular newsletter that can be picked up over the road at the Hertford Tourist Information Centre. Thank you Hertford Town Council! Press releases to all local and national newspapers and radio stations will be sent out when we hit the big milestones, so expect to hear and see news about our building nationally, as well as locally!
