Well, to be completely honest, it’s not exactly ‘hello’. How do we go about announcing that we are saying ‘hello’ to a Guildford institution that we have known for years and years?
Over these years we have been proud to welcome visiting stars, production team members, producers, directors and of course masses and masses of audience members and theatre-goers to the hotel.
We proudly share details of every show, production, concert and play that this glorious venue hosts via our monthly What’s On in Guildford blog, and of course we have Seasonal Brochures on display throughout the hotel.
(Incidentally, you can download a digital version of the Autumn/Winter Brochure right here).
So, why on earth are we saying hello to a place that we know so well and love so much?
Because, after years of offering mutual support and respect, we have formalised our business relationship and Mandolay is now a very proud Corporate Partner of The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
So, if you are a friend or supporter of the theatre you will be seeing Mandolay appear in regular promotions and show programmes.
You can find details of the various ways to support The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, including Vanbrugh Club Membership on their website here.
Regular readers of our blog page (yes, we do have them!), will know that we try to keep our content light, and occasionally interesting, so for our many fans out there, here is a little bit of detail about the woman behind the naming of the theatre, French born actress and brilliant pianist, Yvonne Arnaud.
Born in 1890, the young Yvonne travelled extensively with some of the best orchestra’s in the world from the age of 14 after winning the prestigious Premier Prix for Piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Then, in 1911 Ms Arnaud abandoned orchestra life in favour of a career in the theatre, becoming famous for performances in musical productions before making an even bigger name for herself as a dramatic actress.
Ms Arnaud loved Guildford, living in the town for many years with her husband, before her death in 1958. There is a memorial to her in St. Martha’s churchyard, and of course, another tribute to her brilliance in the naming of The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, which was opened in 1965.