“Shine on every day and night. And that’s how we get through Jaywick.”
The Queen’s Theatre’s Outer Limits is a vibrant new rolling festival of original, heart-warming, hard-hitting performances made by local artists for all ages to enjoy – which has been running from September and continues into February. Not only does it celebrate local creativity, but also the diversity and different needs and interests of this community. Up-and-coming playwright Dan Murphy grew up in Gidea Park and went to school in Emerson Park. He also attended the Step by Step stage school at Fairkytes Arts Centre and completed a short stint of work experience at the Queen’s Theatre. Dan’s hilarious, heartfelt drama, Skinny Legs, launched the Outer Limits festival. Passionate about bringing the life and voices of his hometown and the surrounding Essex county to the stage, Dan presented his debut play A Local Boy last year. It toured the UK and enjoyed a short West End run. He has been shortlisted for the BBC Trans Comedy and the Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays awards and has developed work with some of the country’s best venues and theatre companies including the Royal Court, National Theatre, Tobacco Factory and Theatre 503. Outer Limits continues throughout the autumn and into the spring with the following offerings:- Singing in the Corner, 30 November – In a night of ‘posh karaoke’, the Queen’s provides an MC and piano-player, and anyone and everyone can take to the stage with a song!
- Writenight, 30 January – An evening showcasing new writing from local up-and-coming playwrights performed by professional actors as rehearsed readings on stage.
- Hackney Colliery Band, 10 February – This hugely inventive brass band’s influences are as diverse as the London borough that gives them their name – from rock and afro to hip-hop and Balkan beats, they’ll blow the roof off with their high-energy rhythms.
