Strawberries and cream
Gin and tonic
Gilbert and Sullivan
So how did the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival come to run cruises and holidays across Europe and beyond?
For more than 30 years, the Festival has brought together people who share a love of music and theatre. Year after year, familiar faces return to Buxton to renew old friendships, make new ones and enjoy the warm, welcoming atmosphere that has become the hallmark of the Festival.
Then, in 2010, we began to wonder: why should that Festival spirit last for only two weeks each summer? We wanted to create holidays that captured that distinctive atmosphere and allowed it to continue.
The answer was Theatrical Adventures.
Today, our holidays allow that Festival experience to continue throughout the year. Whether we are sailing along the Rhine, discovering the châteaux of the Loire Valley, exploring the timeless wonders of Egypt or enjoying a weekend in Jersey, guests will find the same sense of friendship and shared enjoyment.
The destinations matter, of course. So do comfortable ships, carefully planned excursions and exceptional evening entertainment from artists of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company. But ask our guests what they remember most and they will usually tell you it wasn’t the places – it was the people.
Many guests arrive knowing no one. By the end of the holiday, they have made new friends, shared plenty of laughter and are already planning their next adventure together.
Because we charter each ship exclusively for our guests, there are no strangers on board for long. Before you know it, the ship feels less like a cruise and more like a house party among friends.
The relationship works both ways. Festival-goers discover Theatrical Adventures, while many of our cruise guests make their first visit to Buxton and quickly become part of the Festival family.
That is why Theatrical Adventures and the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival belong together so naturally: both bring people together through music, travel and friendship.