The Garlinge Theatre

The Garlinge Theatre Ethical vegan theatre. Creativity guided by Compassion. An all wooden, rural theatre, championing grassroots & classic theatrical productions.

We welcome challenging themes that encourage ARTivism! Rebirth of a Theatre: A Sustainable Beacon for the Community

In the heart of our local community, a quaint theatre is experiencing a transformative revival. Once dormant, it now hopes to become a rural centre for the performing arts, a vibrant beacon, pulsating with life and energy. What sets this theatre apart is not just the performances th

at grace its stage, but the eco-friendly and compassionate heart that beats within its walls. The Garlinge Theatre, previously known as the Ensó theatre, was part of the Steiner School Canterbury, which was established by Ulrike and Alan Brockman. Mrs Brockman, born in Stuttgart, inherited her educational inspiration from her parents, who were friends of Rudolf Steiner and followers of his philosophy. Mr Brockman was from Broad Oak, Canterbury. Together they moved to Perry Court Farm, Garlinge Green, which Mr Brockman had bought in 1953 and developed it into Kents first organic farm. In 1976 they bought the original farmhouse of Perry Court Farm with the vision of forming a community. From this, Steiner School Perry Court was founded and opened in 1976 to 14 students in 3 classes. By 1996 the number of pupils had risen to 230 and it was felt that a new creative performance space was needed; this led to the birth of the Ensó Theatre in the autumn of 1997. After the death of Alan Brockman in 2013 the school pupil numbers began to decline. The school closed in 2017 and out of this came the New School, Canterbury. The site is now occupied by Hope View School and The Light Root hub (a home educational group), with the theatre nestled between the two. Since officially opening its doors on March 31st 2024, The Garlinge Theatre has hosted live music, original productions, and has even been used as a filming location. If you'd like us to host your event, performance or workshop, then please do get in touch with Alison at [email protected]

06/06/2026
06/06/2026
What a very fun evening last night, as GAPS debuted their production of A Candle for Elvis at the Garlinge Theatre!The a...
06/06/2026

What a very fun evening last night, as GAPS debuted their production of A Candle for Elvis at the Garlinge Theatre!

The amateur dramatics group did a fantastic job of bringing this bizarre comedy to life. We were also treated to an Elvis impersonator who entertained us with some classic Presley tracks.

GAPS will be performing again this evening. Grab your tickets now and support local theatre!

https://www.ticketsource.com/garlingetheatre/a-candle-for-elvis/e-djkqyz





04/06/2026

Dear friends, followers & supporters,

We would like to share some news with you about changes at the Garlinge Theatre.

On June 1st, the Garlinge Theatre changed hands and is now no longer managed by Terry and Alison.

The onsite home educational Hub, who holds the lease for the theatre, has decided to manage the space themselves and begin a new journey of creativity and community involvement.

The Hub's evolving spiritual journey is unfortunately not in a position to sustain a vegan venue and will therefore not be running the theatre as an ethical vegan space.

It has been exciting & challenging for us to help build the theatre from almost nothing, and to see the local community and those further afield participate in that development. The Garlinge Theatre was always a community space and will continue to be so.

We would like to send a heart felt THANK YOU to each and every person who has performed, visited and supported the theatre in the 2 and a bit years under our management. A special thanks goes to Ivan and close friends who helped with technical support, productions and design.

This video is a collation of some of the events and activities we had on during our time here. But as with all theatre productions, it's always better to be there live!

Please continue to support local, independent theatre, and - if it calls to you - veganism 🙂

We will continue to promote any forthcoming events on our website and socials whilst the new management finds their feet.

We wish the new theatre all the very best!

Alison & Terry
(and little Haco...)

💚

🎉 THANK YOU!! 🎉We've reached just over 1000 followers/likes on Facebook, thanks to YOUR support!This is a great achievem...
29/05/2026

🎉 THANK YOU!! 🎉

We've reached just over 1000 followers/likes on Facebook, thanks to YOUR support!

This is a great achievement for us in just over 2 years. We really appreciate the support and we value each and every one of you.

We will be sharing some news soon, along with a special video in celebration of the support and 2 year milestone.

Keep cool! 🧊

Much love & peace,

Aly, Terry & little Haco!

Ready for a double whammy of Elvis?!Garlinge Amateur Productions Society (GAPS) is bringing a fantastic debut production...
27/05/2026

Ready for a double whammy of Elvis?!

Garlinge Amateur Productions Society (GAPS) is bringing a fantastic debut production of A Candle For Elvis AND an Elvis tribute act, all in one night! (Across two dates).

Here's all the info;

WHEN: Friday 5th & Saturday 6th June, 7.30pm
WHERE: The Garlinge Theatre, CT4 5RU
TICKETS: Via LinkTree or https://www.ticketsource.com/garlingetheatre/a-candle-for-elvis/e-djkqyz

A Candle For Elvis
When devoted Elvis fan, Mary Bigelow, celebrates her 70th birthday, the last thing her family expects is a mysterious visitor turning up at her door claiming to be none other than The King himself. Cue confusion, chaos, and some very different reactions — from scepticism and suspicion to starry-eyed fascination.

A Candle for Elvis is a fun, feel-good comedy packed with family drama, laughter, and unexpected twists. This fast-paced one-act play will leave you wondering, what if believing in the impossible makes life a little more exciting?

GAPS are the Garlinge Amateur Productions Society - the Garlinge Theatre's in-house amateur theatre company.

We shall see you and your shaking hips there!





A fond farewell to Carol and the vegan café ☘️It is with great sadness that we share the vegan café at the Garlinge Thea...
23/05/2026

A fond farewell to Carol and the vegan café ☘️

It is with great sadness that we share the vegan café at the Garlinge Theatre has come to an end. This means our June date will no longer be going ahead.

This announcement comes as a result of changes at the theatre, which we will be sharing soon.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to Carol for working so very hard, committing each week initially and then each month to cooking and baking some incredibly creative dishes. Who knew Wisteria from the theatre's own pergola could taste so good in cake form!

We wish Carol all the very best and hope to taste her food again soon!

Thank you Carol.

We would also like to extend our thanks to all those who supported the café by traveling to our "out-of-the-way" theatre (I'm pretty sure the landlord and his wife made the most trips!). Your support has meant the world to us and we will remember the glowing feedback and smiling faces.

Thank you.

💚





Address

Garlinge Green Road, Chartham
Canterbury
CT45RU

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 10pm
Tuesday 10am - 10pm
Wednesday 10am - 10pm
Thursday 10am - 10pm
Friday 10am - 11pm
Saturday 10am - 11pm
Sunday 10am - 10pm

Telephone

+447703016270

Website

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