The outpouring of goodwill towards the Orange Tree during its recent funding crisis has proved just how central the theatre is to local people's lives.
The inaugural Zeitgeist Theatre Grand Slam in October was meant to be a toe-dipping exercise, to see if the people of south west London fancied a bit of fringe theatre above a pub, performed by enthusiasts, and maybe the odd professional.
There was mixed news for south London's arts venues after the Arts Council (ACE) announced its finalised funding cuts today, which left the Croydon-based London Mozart Players (LMP) fighting for survival.
It seems Sir Peter Hall is barely out of this, or any other, newspaper these days. When he is not promoting the Rose in Kingston, the veteran director is complaining that young thespians do not speak up enough.
If I died in the middle of writing this article, then I dare say my colleagues would wipe away the tears, hitch up the black armbands and finish it off. Even Mr Mozart wasn't above posthumous creative extrapolation - his Requiem was completed by a colleague after he kicked the bucket mid-movement.
Last week's news that Sir Peter Hall is handing over day-to-day running of the Rose Theatre to artistic director Stephen Unwin was unexpected to say the least.
The title of the Charles Cryer Theatre's latest show is rather ambiguous - The Visit - and I'm afraid I won't be shedding too much light on it here, because the story is rather a mysterious one, and should stay like that for now.
Sir Peter Hall is barely out of this or any newspaper these days. When he's not promoting the Rose Theatre in Kingston, the veteran director is complaining that young thespians do not speak up enough.
