Ringwood Musical and Dramatic Society has continued their support for the development of performing arts in Ringwood with a donation to Ringwood School of £50,000 following the recent opening of the new performance venue, The Barn.
RMDS has a long association with Ringwood School having performed shows there since the early 1970s and previously supported the development of the school theatre with lighting, sound and tiered seating. The development of The Barn offers exciting new opportunities for the performing arts in Ringwood, both for the students at Ringwood School and the wider community and RMDS looks forward to its first production in the last week of October, “How the Other Half Loves” by Alan Ayckbourn. This will be followed in November by the ever-popular Ringwood Soiree, back in Ringwood for the first time in many years.
Mark Bodger, Chairman of RMDS said “We are proud to be able to continue our long association with Ringwood School and supporting the development of performing arts for which the school is so well renowned and the wider community.”
Leanne Symonds, Headteacher of Ringwood School said “We are delighted to have a new venue which significantly improves provision for our students and also offers the town a space where performance arts can be showcased. We are incredibly grateful to RMDS for their very generous donation. Without such generosity The Barn would not be the building that it is today.”
The Barn was developed to provide a new assembly hall and performance space for Ringwood School following a grant of £2.5m from the Condition Improvement Fund which in turn has allowed the development of a new dining facility for students, The Stables, in the space previously occupied by the school hall and theatre.