Brownsea Island Shakespeare plays to end after National Trust row

A theatre company is set to end open-air performances on a Dorset island after 60 years.

Brownsea Open Air Theatre's annual Shakespeare productions have attracted thousands to the National Trust-owned Brownsea Island each summer.

It said a dispute over the use of a temporary auditorium meant future shows were "financially unviable".

The National Trust said it was "considering the impact" of shows on the island's nature and wildlife.

BOAT's annual summer productions are attended by more than 4,000 people who make the trip to the island nature reserve to watch a Shakespeare play in a temporarily constructed auditorium.

The charity raises money for the work of the National Trust and the Dorset Wildlife Trust on the island, which forms part of the Purbeck National Nature Reserve.

In a statement, the charity said it had been working on the idea of developing a natural amphitheatre as an arts venue on the island but plans were hit by the Covid pandemic and the loss of funding from the EU.

The open air theatre said the National Trust had subsequently suggested a "minimal style of show" with audiences bringing their own seating, as well as "less elaborate sets and staging".

"Chartering a ferry not just for its 4,000 plus patrons each season but for the seating equipment they would be obliged to bring with them would make the alternative style of production financially unviable," a statement from the theatre said.

It said other options were discussed at a meeting in January including having a "fallow year" but that the experience of lockdown showed inactivity meant "financial loss on an annual basis".

"The National Trust has placed us in a situation whereby removing ourselves from the island is the only practicable outcome made available to us," it said.

It said this summer's production of Macbeth would be the last the group staged on Brownsea.

The statement said it was committed to finding a new home on the mainland and that it still supported the amphitheatre project on Brownsea Island.

The National Trust said it would "consider a number of options" for future productions.

"These options will take into account the impact of the productions on Brownsea Island's resources, visitors and on its nature and wildlife and status as a National Nature Reserve and site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)," it said.

"We hope to continue our long history with BOAT on future plans for a natural amphitheatre on the island."

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