Groombridge Place Gardens is hosting a performance of Twelfth Night on Saturday July 12th in aid of the injured servicemen and women’s charity Help for Heroes. The play – one of Shakespeare’s most popular – will be performed on the Draughtsman’s Lawn in the 17th century formal gardens. Film buffs will recognise the lawn from Peter Greenaway’s film The Draughtsman’s Contract.

The play is being performed in conjunction with the Trinity Theatre and Arts Centre. It is a classic comic tale of unrequited love, mistaken identity, lust and cruel deceit. Set in fictitious Illyria, a land of love and peace where appearances are not quite what they seem, the play is filled with wit and verbal puns.
Everyone will get a free glass of Groombridge Place English wine and visitors can bring their own picnic, chairs and rugs. Visitors will be able to wander around the formal gardens which will be at their peak, with scented roses and honeysuckle, quintessentially English herbaceous borders and perfectly groomed lawns. The Oriental garden will be especially spectacular.

Help for Heroes was founded last year to raise money for Headley Court, the tri-service rehabilitation centre in Surrey. “The evening is a fun way of showing support to those who have been injured while serving their country and it couldn’t be a more worthwhile cause. All the money raised will go to the charity,” said event organiser Jill Todd.

Tickets are priced £12.50 and are available by calling 01892 861444 or from the website groombridge.co.uk. For information on Help for Heroes visit helpforheroes.org.uk