New amphitheatre built in woodland in Southwold, Suffolk

Photo credit: Thorington Theatre Facebook page

A theatre is currently under construction in woodland in Southwold, Suffolk in what is thought to be a World War Two bomb crater. 

The Thorington Theatre is currently being built on land owned by Mark and Lindy O’Hare and the amphitheatre, when finished, will seat around 350 people. 

There is hope that the new venue will be used for theatre performances and music gigs in the coming months, but there is also the possibility of it being viable for TV programmes such as Springwatch or the Sky at Night, which will benefit from the large expanse of nature and view of the sky. 

Initial plans for the theatre began three years ago and all of the timber has been sourced from surrounding woodland. The site is coppice; meaning that the trees used when felled will grow back, making it environmentally friendly, incredibly sustainable and much more financially viable than sourcing the timber elsewhere. 

Creator Silas Rayner said: “It’s the perfect wood for the building. It’s meant that we are able to do it with a low carbon footprint but we had to let it dry out”. The first trees for the project were felled in 2019. 

Subject to virus restrictions, it is hoped that it will be ready to welcome visitors later in the year. 

Rayner said: “We have got a couple of shows planned for June. With Coronavirus, the number of events has gone down so I’ve had time to focus on this.” Rayner is not only the leading the creation on site but he also works within the badly hit music and events industry. 

“The joy of it being outside is that some venues have still been able to open for small performances” and Rayner is quietly confident that they will be able to welcome 150-200 people after lockdown. 

For more information on the venue, please click here.