Press Releases

RECORD-BREAKING SUCCESS FOR THE NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE

Issued : 21 November 2005

Champagne corks have been popping on stage at the New Wimbledon Theatre as the venue celebrates two record-breaking shows in two weeks.

Daphne du Maurier’s classic masterpiece Rebecca, starring Nigel Havers, has become the theatre’s best-selling drama, while Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake has won the accolade of being the venue’s most successful week-long show ever! Combined ticket sales for the two weeks topped a staggering 20,000 seats, with Swan Lake reaching 85% capacity over the week.

More records will be broken this Christmas with the arrival of the venue’s magical blockbuster family pantomime Cinderella, starring Richard Wilson, Susan Hampshire, John Barrowman, Naomi Wilkinson and Peter Duncan. Box Office sales are already 60% ahead of last year’s panto. Cinderella opens on Friday 9th December and is one of eight brand new pantomimes being produced by First Family Entertainment, a major new joint venture between the Ambassador Theatre Group and Clear Channel Entertainment, which will ensure that each of its new productions offer the very best in traditional, professional, top quality family entertainment.

New Wimbledon Theatre was taken over by the Ambassador Theatre Group in September 2003 and re-opened in February 2004. Since then, it has brought a wide variety of high quality productions to south-west London including the major West End musicals Cats, Saturday Night Fever and Blood Brothers, the acclaimed dance productions of Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! and Highland Fling, plus the first visit to London in over 10 years by Glyndebourne Touring Opera.

Matthew Bourne said:
"I am absolutely delighted that my production of Swan Lake has broken all box office records for a dance piece at the New Wimbledon Theatre when we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the show."

Howard Panter, Co-founder and Managing Director, Ambassador Theatre Group, said:
“We are thrilled that Rebecca and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake have proved so popular with our audiences and are excited with the fantastic ticket sales for Cinderella. Through our growth and success over the past 18 months, we are claiming our place as south-west London’s premier entertainment venue.”

ENDS
For more information, please contact John Chittenden, Press Officer, New Wimbledon Theatre, on 020 8545 7919 or email johnchittenden@theambassadors.com

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