The Rose Theatre is struggling to fill its spacious 900-seat capacity with at least eight in ten seats empty every night.

Although the recent run of Bedroom Farce / Miss Julie productions got stellar reviews from national critics, audience numbers have still been low.

An actor, who asked not to be named, said; “You hear you’re playing to an audience of one hundred, a hundred and fifty, and you think ‘OK’. Then you realise it’s a nine hundred seater.”

Louise Gilbert, Press and PR Coordinator for the theatre, believes the problem is temporary. She said; “The Rose Theatre is only 21 months old and is still at an early point in developing its brand and audience base. There are very few drama houses in the UK of this scale that are operating at a constant 75%+ attendance level”.

Students have been targeted as a potentially rich audience base, with The Rose signing up to Arts Council England’s “A Night Less Ordinary” scheme, providing free theatre tickets for under 26’s.     

While unwilling to admit how successful the offer has been, Ms Gilbert did say “it’s clear it is an audience that needs to be nurtured”.

With December’s Treasure Island intended to draw in Christmas crowds, The Rose is also planning for the new year with big name appearances.

February will see Judi Dench appear in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a move that many attribute to her long-standing professional relationship with theatre director Peter Hall. Whether these plans will attract fresh faces to the auditorium remains to be seen.