It’s our 15th anniversary at Hatch House…
15 years ago, a quick conversation took place in the 17th Century walled Dutch garden at Hatch House. It was between The Covent Garden Dance Company director Matt Brady and the owner of the gardens, Lady Holly Rumbold. The latter was being asked if she would mind if the former put a ballet on in her garden. The response was an emphatic:
‘Oh my gawd yes!’.
Three months later, the first show was presented to a bijou audience of 120 guests who had been rapidly contacted to try to ensure that the eccentric idea of presenting a ballet in a garden could be realised before the summer passed.
For those of you who have not been, the 430 seat dinner theatre is created within the two tiered walled garden to form the dinner theatre. The walled garden is completely covered with a giant bespoke roof for the run of the 4 shows. Guests arrive generally around 5:30pm to enjoy a drink from the newly created Café Folle Speak Easy cocktail bar and a walk in the sunshine around the gardens. At 7pm everyone is seated at tables with their party to enjoy their first course of gourmet dining ahead of the first half hour section of performance. Each half hour of performance takes place after each course of dining. Each performance section has four short works within it with each work lasting around 5-8 mins.
Hatch House 2024 is a feast for the senses for anyone and everyone, especially if you have never been to see ballet or dance. The combination of the performance and three course dining, in the deeply romantic walled garden is truly something unique and brilliant. If you can get a ticket….GET A TICKET!
Performance dates are: 25th/26th/27th July 2025