Join Havering Changing and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch for Centre Stage – a vibrant showcase of top Essex/East London deaf, disabled, and neuro-divergent talent!
Dive into our scratch night: a relaxed evening of fresh ideas, short works-in-progress, live feedback, food, music, performances, and community fun.
Late at night, a small cast gathers inside an old theatre for what should be a straightforward rehearsal. But the building carries a reputation. Whispered stories, half-remembered warnings and long-held superstitions that most performers dismiss… until they can’t.
When the theatre doors close, something shifts and what should be fiction starts to feel dangerously real. Expect the unexpected as reality and storytelling begin to blur, plunging you into a shadowed world where nothing is as it seems.
Blackout puts you inside the experience, where every movement, sound and shadow pulls you deeper into the dark. Brace yourself for unnerving twists, creeping shadows, and moments that will make your heart race.
Because fear loves an audience.
A bank robbery, a family funeral, and a coffin with a shocking secret – nothing is off limits in this mischievous comedy of chaos! When a daring heist goes spectacularly wrong, the money ends up in the most unlikely hiding place, and the lies begin to pile up fast. What follows is a whirlwind of cover-ups, confusion and sheer audacity as everyone scrambles to stay ahead.
Orton’s masterpiece is packed with razor-sharp dialogue, physical mayhem and twists that spiral towards the absurd. Daring, dark and unmissably funny, nothing is off limits in this mischievous comedy of chaos!
Attend our FREE pre-show Director’s Talk on Mon 23 Feb at 6.30pm. Book your space here.
✭✭✭✭✭ “A clever play with razor sharp dialogue, farcical situations, and completely over the top characters.” Southend Theatre Scene
“This outstanding production of Loot is a must-see” The Havering Daily
“We very much enjoyed seeing this version of Loot” Jupiter Hadley
“A sharp swipe at authority, religion, and respectability.” Stagedoor Joe
Caroline dreams of something more than stacking shelves at the local greengrocers. Her days are routine, but her nights come alive, walking the pier, sharing laughs with her best friend Mary, and spinning records with Robbie, her music-mad boyfriend who’s big on charm yet short on direction.
But a music revolution is coming, and Robbie lands a shock gig with Radio Caroline – the pirate radio station blasting pop, soul and rock ’n’ roll from a ship off the Essex coast and suddenly everything changes. Caroline is swept into a tidal wave of music, mayhem and a movement that would shake up British culture forever.
Set to a soundtrack of iconic hits from the 60s, Caroline is a vibrant, heart-warming and rebellious new musical about love, ambition and discovering your own voice.
She’s not a DJ. She’s not a rock star. But in the middle of Britain’s radio revolution, Caroline might just steal the show.
Attend our FREE pre-show Director’s Talk on Thu 7 May at 6.30pm. Book your space here.
Caroline: A New Musical is produced by the East Anglian Touring Consortium. It is penned by the award-winning writer Vikki Stone and Directed by Douglas Rintoul (Chief Executive/Artistic Director at the New Wolsey Theatre) and Alex Thorpe (Co-Creative Director at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch).
Essex local Vikki Stone says “It has been a delight to develop Caroline, a bold, loud, and joyfully defiant show which celebrates the rich cultural history of the East Anglia”
Douglas Rintoul adds “As someone who also grew up in the area, I’m thrilled that we’re bringing this extraordinary story home. We are committed to creating high-quality, original theatre made by and for the people of East Anglia and what better story to tell than one that’s so deeply rooted in our region’s rebellious, creative spirit? Caroline celebrates the mavericks who changed the airwaves forever, blending wit, heart, and a glorious soundtrack that defined a generation. Audiences can expect an uplifting, joyful, and distinctly East Anglian story told with all the energy, humour, and humanity that defines our actor-musician work.”
The East Anglian Touring Consortium unites eight leading regional arts organisations from across East Anglia: Eastern Angles, HighTide, Landmark Theatres (New Theatre Peterborough), Mercury Theatre Colchester, New Wolsey Theatre, Norwich Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds. Their mission is to create a sustainable, inclusive model for midscale touring, producing original theatre that champions local talent and reaches under-served communities. Supported by Arts Council England, it aims to strengthen East Anglia’s creative economy, expand access to the arts, and set a national example for collaborative, environmentally responsible theatre-making.
Caroline was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme.
This is a FREE pre-show event.
After clinching the film rights to an international best-selling novel, the bosses at Foxglove Studios thought they had struck gold. But who will get the starring role – a Hollywood A-lister, or a humble film extra?
Just as shooting is about to start, a murderer strikes and the spotlight turns on some of the biggest names in the industry as they become suspects in the case of the decade.
The Police are left reeling and need your detective skills to help solve this complex puzzle.
After clinching the film rights to an international best-selling novel, the bosses at Foxglove Studios thought they had struck gold. But who will get the starring role – a Hollywood A-lister, or a humble film extra?
Just as shooting is about to start, a murderer strikes and the spotlight turns on some of the biggest names in the industry as they become suspects in the case of the decade.
The Police are left reeling and need your detective skills to help solve this complex puzzle.
In the theatre foyer, you’ll discover an exhibition of artwork and writing inspired by nature walks and creative workshops. Step inside the auditorium, and instead of taking your seat in the stalls, you’ll join the performers on stage. Here, you and the actors sit together around a table for an intimate hour-long experience that blends acted scenes, video and music. Rather than following a single story, Dysbiosis unfolds like a collage, with each piece reflecting the diverse voices and backgrounds of its makers.
Expect a range of styles and tones: some moments are playful and humorous, while others are deeply moving or thought-provoking, tackling themes such as pollution and environmental change. Many pieces imagine the voices of plants, animals, or even stones, asking us to look at the world from new perspectives. With its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, the performance invites gentle audience participation – perhaps sharing a hot drink or reading aloud – but only ever on your own terms. Dysbiosis is a truly collaborative, creative and immersive experience, bringing people and ideas together on stage and off.
Dysbiosis is a brand-new performance created by a group of writers, performers and creatives who have spent time at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch exploring how we see and experience nature. Alongside their own work, they’ve also collaborated with local Havering residents. The result is both a unique stage performance and a thought-provoking exhibition, each offering fresh perspectives on our relationship with the natural world.
A Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Theatre by the Lake production
Back in the 80s, Di, Viv and Rose are university housemates. Energetic and idealistic, they become friends – but where will life take them after that?
Filled with the iconic culture, fashion and music of the 80s, 90s and Noughties, Di and Viv and Rose follows these three women through the messy complexity of adulthood, in a must-see celebration of the power of lifelong friendship.
Candid and full of humour, Di, Viv and Rose talk about sex, ambition and love – sharing joyful moments, painful experiences, and some surprising secrets.
★★★★★ “The perfect show for a group of friends.” What’s Good to Do
★★★★ “A cracking night out at the theatre.” Northern Arts Review
★★★★ “You feel you have known these characters, thanks to the great performances.” North West End UK
Di and Viv and Rose is written by actor-writer Amelia Bullmore, best known for her portrayal of Steph Barnes in Coronation Street and more recently Riot Women (2025), Happy Valley (2016) and Scott & Bailey (2011). The original production of Di and Viv and Rose transferred to the West End after a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre.
Don’t forget to attend our FREE Director’s Talk on Fri 17 Oct at 6.30pm – click here to book.
Four actors. Four Shakespeare shows. Endless possibilities.
You – the audience – decide everything, from the play to the performance style. Even which actor plays which part. This hilarious, unpredictable new show, featuring actors whose past experience includes the RSC, Bristol Old Vic, Cheltenham Everyman, Dubai and the West End promises an unforgettable evening of Shakespeare unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!
“Delightfully Daft” (The Stage)
“A chaotic, ambitious, side-splittingly funny interactive Shakespearience” (Westhoff Reviews)
“Though this be madness, yet there’s method in’t” (William Shakespeare)
