Grace Coppin, Author at Queens Theatre

Cake & A Cuppa Day raises over £1,700 at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Grace Coppin

On Thursday 12 June, the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch hosted their first Cake & A Cuppa Day in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society and the Theatre. After being kindly match funded by Barclays Hornchurch, the event raised over £1,751.72, which will be equally shared between the two charities.

Members of the community enjoyed a range of delicious cupcakes, cakes and biscuits all generously donated by Queen’s Theatre staff, Havering Dementia Action Alliance and Tesco’s Roneo Corner. Fairlytes Singers entertained and got everyone dancing in the foyer with their memorable songs. Important information on support and care was provided by the Action Alliance, Alzheimer’s Society and Radfield Home Care.

Tom Lowe, Relationships Officer at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch said ‘Thank you to everyone involved making it such a wonderful first event for the whole community to participate and enjoy. The Theatre creates such a broad range of dementia friendly activities, it was great to work with Alzheimer’s Society.’

The Alzheimer’s Society is the only UK charity that campaigns for change, funds research to find a cure and supports people living with dementia today. Their wide range of support services ensures nobody has to face dementia alone. People with dementia have mentioned how difficult it is to find out who to turn to or where to go for information and support.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch aims to ensure a positive experience for everyone that comes to the Theatre – whether it is to see a show, use its café or participate in one of its many drama workshops or community projects. The Theatre creates numerous projects aimed at people with dementia to enable them to continue enjoying and participating in the arts.

Queen’s Theatre receives £5,000 of Capital funding from Equity Charitable Trust

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is delighted to announce it has been awarded a £5,000 capital funding grant from the Equity Charitable Trust towards upgrading its green room facilities as part of its QNew Transformation Programme. These funds will be combined with the £5,000 grant the Theatre received in February from Theatre Trusts’ London Small Theatres Grants Scheme to make the space more accessible.

With rehearsals now taking place for the Queen’s Theatre’s produced work in its newly built rehearsal space on-site, the Theatre is striving to encourage D/deaf and disabled persons to be better represented on its main stage. This investment towards making the green room more accessible and suited to their needs will play a vital role in making users feel welcome and offer them a practical space to relax and socialise with others. This will involve purchasing new equipment and making adaptions to its current kitchen layout with adjustable fittings and appliances to accommodate everyone’s needs.

Milton Johns, Chairman at Equity Charitable Trust says, ‘I played the Queen’s Theatre back in the sixties and I am delighted it is still going strong and that we at the Equity Charitable Trust are able to help with this admirable work.’

Mathew Russell, Executive Director at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch says, ‘We’d like to say a massive thank you to the Equity Charitable Trust for this generous grant. The funds will make an important contribution towards improving the accessibility of our green room for actors, creatives and staff to enjoy for years to come.’

QNew is an exciting programme of building improvements which will allow the Theatre to make high quality theatre in developed spaces, work with more young people and community groups, offer an increasingly comfortable experience to audiences, be more open and accessible to D/deaf and disabled people, and keep the Theatre alive as a safe and environmentally friendly community hub, well into the future.

In addition to its newly built rehearsal space, the project has delivered a stylish new Q Bar on the ground level, offering better accessibility for audiences, a number of urgent and essential backstage improvements as well as developments towards the creation of a new Learning & Participation Space in the lower foyer.

For more information about QNew click here.

Cake & A Cuppa Day at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Grace Coppin

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch will be hosting a Cake & A Cuppa Day in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch on Thursday 13 June, between 12pm and 2pm in its foyer.

On the day, Fairlytes Choir will be performing some memorable songs with participants from the Alzheimer’s Society’s Singing for the Brain group, which uses singing and activities to bring together people with dementia or memory loss. There will of course be plenty of cake and many pots of tea!

The event is free to attend and donations very much appreciated. All funds raised are being equally split between the two charities with match funding from Barclays Hornchurch.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch shares latest developments under its QNew Transformation programme

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has released details of the latest developments it has experienced under its QNew Transformation programme including more capital funding and upgraded equipment.

Back in January and February this year, the Theatre campaigned to bag a capital grant from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative together with Groundwork London towards its Q Access strand of the £1 million pound QNew Transformation project. Voted by customers in the local area, the Theatre is delighted to have been awarded the top prize of £4,000. This grant will be used towards refurbishing its two disabled toilets and the installation of a push button powered operated door. These essential changes will ensure all visitors have better access to facilities that accommodate their needs.

Alec Brown, Tesco’s Head of Community, said: ‘Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers, who get to decide how the money will be spent in their community.’

Alex Forrester, Corporate Partnerships Manager, Groundwork London: ‘It’s always fantastic to see projects being given the chance to make a real difference within their local communities through Bags of Help. We’re proud to play a part in this scheme in partnership with Tesco to help community projects get the opportunities they deserve to develop and flourish.’

Groundwork London is a social and environmental charity who help the capital’s local communities build resilience. Groundwork is administering the Bags of Help programme in partnership with Tesco.

New sprung oak floorboard effect flooring has been laid in the Theatre’s new rehearsal space to provide a degree of bounce that flexes under impact. Performers need a floor to absorb the shock of repeated impact to their joints and reduce injury from falls. This follows the recent installation of new windows, a curtain rail and mirror curtains, cork boards, coat hooks and wifi, which have helped make the space more practical and stimulating for actors and creatives to work in.

A new washing machine has been installed in the Theatre’s laundry room which will provide the Wardrobe Manager with better facilities to maintain costumes. The Theatre has its own Wardrobe Department where costumes are lovingly created on-site for its produced productions. The Theatre’s workshop has also had its paint bridge refurbished to increase its longevity, which enables its scenic artists to paint cloths and scenery at height safely. The paint bridge is an asset to the Theatre as there are not many paint bridges left in London.

The Theatre has been fundraising towards innovating the iconic building since September with contributions coming from capital grants, donations and the Theatre’s introduction of a 65p QNew Transformation fee. This came into effect on the Theatre’s 65th birthday, Friday 21 September 2018. Since then, customers have already helped the Theatre raise a public contribution towards QNew of £48899.30.

Queen’s Theatre is awarded £50,000 capital grant from Veolia Havering Riverside Maintenance Trust towards QNew

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has been awarded a £50,000 capital grant from Veolia Havering Riverside Maintenance Trust towards its on-going QNew Transformation Programme.

The Theatre will use this generous grant to upgrade its foyer lighting system to use LED lights, giving its audiences the benefit of an improved experience before the show, whilst enjoying a meal or participating in activities. By converting its current incandescent bulbs to LED lights, the Theatre estimates it will reduce total CO2 emissions by 7.5 tonnes annually.

The funds will also go towards lighting its new Learning & Participation space in the lower foyer. With the Theatre now working with over 30,000 participants ever year, this dedicated new space will enable the team to work with a broader range of participants with varying needs; providing great theatre for all and create new opportunities to engage with adults, young people, community and teachers for a wide range of educational and participatory work.

So far, the project has delivered a brand new rehearsal space on site at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and a stylish new Q Bar on the ground level, offering better accessibility for audiences, as well as making a number of urgent and essential backstage improvements.

Mathew Russell, Executive Director at the Queen’s Theatre says ‘We’d like to say a huge thank you to Veolia Havering Riverside Maintenance Trust for their generous support towards such a crucial part of our QNew project. With this grant we will be able to improve the experience for all our visitors and improve our environmental performance’.

For more information about QNew visit queens-theatre.co.uk/qnew/q-new-transformation/

Electrifying new Dance-Circus comes to the Queen’s Theatre

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Grace Coppin

Following its premiere in autumn 2017 and sell-out shows across the UK and in Italy, Motionhouse brings Charge, the company’s latest electrifying dance-circus production, to the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch on Tuesday 11 June.

Charge features a fearless cast, who lift, soar and jump off not only each other but also the impressive set – which is the same height as a fully grown giraffe! Crackling with extraordinary acrobatics, stunning choreography and amazing 3D projections, you’ll be on the edge of your seat throughout.

In Charge, art and science collide: Dance-circus, film and music take audiences on a journey deep into the human body, tracing the extraordinary story of electricity in our lives.

Motionhouse’s Artistic Director Kevin Finnan, MBE (who jointly founded the company in 1988 with Executive Director Louise Richards), said, ‘Charge takes my interest in contemporary themes about the world we live in one step further. I was inspired by a specific area of scientific research – our relationship with energy and the role electricity plays in the human body.’

Kevin Finnan, also known for his choreography and movement direction of the London 2012 Paralympic Games’ Opening Ceremony, worked closely with the dancers and creative team to bring his vision of Charge to life.

★★★★★ ‘Full of magic and brilliantly performed dance and acrobatics… outstanding’ Ladies Take On

★★★★ ‘Powerful, acrobatic movement interacting with electrifying digital technology’ Bachtrack

‘Breathtaking and at times heart-stoppingly daring… excellent cast’ Seeing Dance

‘Utterly mesmerising… one of the best things I’ve ever seen on stage. See it!’ BBC Radio Manchester

Charge comes to the Queen’s Theatre on Tuesday 11 June at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12 – £18 (plus 65p QNew Transformation fee) and £8 for under 26s. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office on 01708 443333, in person at the theatre or online here.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch unveils its autumn season highlights

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has today unveiled its newest additions to its energetic autumn season of produced work, including productions of Love Unspoken with Spare Tyre, Macbeth co-produced with Derby Theatre and Sparky the Elf and the Secret Toyshop.

The premiere of Spare Tyre’s Love Unspoken in association with the Queen’s Theatre will play in Hornchurch from 2 to 5 October. Pushing the boundaries of non-verbal theatre, Love Unspoken is a visually stunning, dynamic piece exploring love and the journeys it takes. Punctuated by movements of lucidity, the show navigates love stories and poetry through dance, movement, sound and light. This is the final production in a trilogy conceived and directed by Arti Prashar, developed in collaboration with people living with dementia from South Asian communities.

This Christmas, the Queen’s Theatre is bringing back its charming festive adventure, Sparky the Elf and the Secret Toyshop from 5 to 24 December, which will be performed in a secret location in the Theatre. Suitable for accompanied 4 – 9 year olds, this engaging and interactive 45 minute show is guaranteed to get children excited for Santa’s visit as they join in as one of Sparky’s little helpers. The production runs alongside the Theatre’s previously announced swashbuckling actor-musician pantomime, Robin Hood, from 28 November to 5 January.

In spring 2020, the Theatre will be co-producing Shakespeare’s darkest thriller, Macbeth from 7 to 29 February with Derby Theatre. This follows acclaimed collaborations on Abigail’s Party and Abi and the forthcoming revival of One Man, Two Guvnors. Macbeth will be directed by the Queen’s Theatre’s Artistic Director, Douglas Rintoul following his celebrated productions of Much Ado About Nothing and UK Tour of The Crucible, and will be designed by Ruari Murchison. The production will also tour to the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich for a week from 16 March, with more tour dates to be announced. Priority tickets will be available to schools at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 13 May and will go on general sale from October 2019.

Kali Theatre will be taking over the Queen’s Theatre’s stage with its moving and thought- provoking production of Homing Birds by Rukhsana Ahmad from 25 to 26 October. The play asks if life has meaning without a connection to family, home and roots and comes from a finalist for the Writers Guild Award and the Susan Blackburn Award.

This summer, families can enjoy the smash-hit family production of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt from 30 July to 1 August. Direct from the West End, this enchanting adaption of the much loved picture book by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury comes with catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of adventure!

A variety of hilarious comedy evenings are lined up throughout the season including the return of Jibbering Jester Comedy Club on Sunday 21 July and Friday 8 February, presenting seven well-known comedians in one night; Desi Central Comedy Show on Sunday 15 September, featuring Patrick Monahan, Kiran Morjaria, Tez Ilyas and Kane Brown and LOL (Ladies of Laughter) with Noreen Khan (BBC Asian Network) with some of the UK’s favourite female acts on Saturday 25 January. Finally, The Indians Are Coming is a brand new comedy show for Diwali featuring Mickey Sharma, Sukh Ojla, Omid Singh and Anuvab Pal and visits the Theatre on Sunday 10 November.

These programme highlights join the Queen’s Theatre’s recently announced produced work which features its Essex Girls and Boys season of two plays by exciting Essex playwrights performing alongside each other. They are the world premiere of Stiletto Beach by Sadie Hasler (4 – 28 September) and the Bruntwood prize-winning So Here We Are by Luke Norris (7 – 28 September) and forms part of the Theatre’s Essex on Stage programme, generously supported by The Clothworkers’ Foundation. This is followed by revivals of Richard Bean’s hilarious smash-hit comedy One Man, Two Guvnors (2 – 19 October, co-produced with Derby Theatre) and The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the Tony-Award winning black comedy thriller by Martin McDonagh (30 October – 16 November, co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre).

Tickets for the entire season are now on sale.

For more details and to book call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or go online at queens-theatre.co.uk

The Hired Man receives 3 prestigious London theatre award nominations

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is thrilled that its gritty and heart-warming revival of The Hired Man has received three nominations in the Off West End Theatre Awards. The production, which has opened to glowing reviews, is co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre in association with Oldham Coliseum Theatre.

Assessors from The Offies (Off West End Theatre Awards) have nominated Lauryn Redding for Best Female Performance in a Musical, Samuel Martin for Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical and jointly nominated Ben Goddard and Tom Self for Best Musical Director.

The OffWestEnd.com website, which champions London’s independent theatres, launched the annual awards – also known as The Offies – in 2010 to celebrate excellence in productions outside the West End. The Queen’s Theatre is one of over 80 participating venues across the capital.

The production is based on the stirring novel by Melvyn Bragg, with a superb score of rousing foot stomping rhythms and soaring choruses by Howard Goodall, the award-winning composer of West End hits Bend It Like Beckham and Love Story. This epic and heroic tale of love, betrayal and loyalty is directed by the Queen’s Theatre’s Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Made in Dagenham).

★★★★ ‘A beautiful and poignant show’ London Theatre 1

★★★★ ‘A strikingly talented cast of actor musicians’ ActDrop

‘A gorgeous, resonant new production…Wrenching and wonderful’ Mark Shenton

‘An amazing tug-at-the-heart musical production… It’s like having a West End show on our doorstep’ Hornchurch Life

The Hired Man runs at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch until Saturday 18 May and then tours to Hull Truck Theatre (23 May – 15 June) and Oldham Coliseum Theatre (20 June – 6 July). For more information and tickets call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or click here.

Critics sing high praise for The Hired Man!

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Grace Coppin

The Queen’s Theatre’s co-production of Melvyn Bragg and Howard Goodall’s gritty and heart-warming musical The Hired Man opened to glowing reviews this week, with its Twitter feed buzzing round the clock with positive comments!

Co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre in association with Oldham Coliseum, ActDrop gave the production four stars and said ‘Fine musicality to relish here from an excellently cast and hugely impressive team, who do more than ample justice to Howard Goodall’s exceptional compositions’.

East London Radio highly praised the production and said, ‘A truly emotional ride through the gritty reality of life for The Hired Men and their families around the start of 20th century in Cumbria. See it’.

Here’s what other critics have been saying:

★★★★★ ‘A West End standard production’ Musical Theatre Review

★★★★ ‘Rintoul’s impassioned production…pays artistic dividends as they play Goodall’s glorious folk-based score as if it’s pouring from their very souls’ Sunday Express

★★★★ ‘A beautiful and poignant show’ London Theatre 1

★★★★ ‘A classic musical from 1984 revived in a loveable, enjoyable and charming way’ The Thespians Blog

‘A gorgeous, resonant new production…Wrenching and wonderful’ Mark Shenton

‘All folksy fiddles and muted trumpets, soaring arpeggios and sweet, warbling high notes’ The Stage

‘Intriguing and moving’ There Ought to be Clowns

‘A true ensemble piece. Also really enjoyed Douglas Rintoul’s direction’ Stage Favs

‘An amazing tug-at-the-heart musical production… It’s like having a West End show on our doorstep’ Hornchurch Life

‘A highly talented and versatile ensemble’ Broadwaybaby

‘The songs range from rousing ensemble numbers through romantic duets and tortured solos in time-honoured musical theatre fashion’ spyinthestalls

‘Gritty and powerful piece of musical theatre’ Theatre Life

‘Goodall’s score is rich and soaring, performed expertly by the cast of actor-musicians’ Mind the Blog

‘Emotional, heartfelt performances’ Romford Recorder

‘This new revival features 11 remarkably talented actor/ musicians who not only put their heart and soul into telling the story, but who also provided the “foot stomping rhythms” we were initially promised.’ Centre Stage Reviews

‘Wonderful, stirring music’ Operetta Research Centre

The Hired Man runs at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch until Saturday 18 May and then tours to Hull Truck Theatre (23 May – 15 June) and Oldham Coliseum Theatre (20 June – 6 July).

For more information and tickets call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit: https://queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/the-hired-man/

Wanted: Community members to participate in workshops for an exciting musical project.

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Grace Coppin

This summer the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is working on a big musical in partnership with the National Theatre, and we need lots of people to help us test out some ideas and support the show’s development. Join us for one or more fun workshops led by Director Douglas Rintoul and Choreographer Sundeep Saini.

There are four workshops, free to attend and each one will be different so you can sign up for as many as you like. For those doing two workshops on the same day, a sandwich lunch will be provided.

All workshops will be movement based, and will include testing out some previous ideas as well as learning part of a routine and working alongside the professional creative team. Sessions are suitable for all ages (16+) and we welcome all levels of experience (including no previous experience).

Workshops will take place at the Queen’s Theatre in either our Rehearsal Space or on the Main Stage:

• Sunday 12 May – 10am-1pm

• Sunday 12 May – 2pm-5pm

• Saturday 1 June – 10am-1pm

• Saturday 1 June – 2pm-5pm

Places can be booked by contacting the Box Office either in person or by calling 01708 443333.