Author: Grace Coppin

Love is in the air! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has announced its going to be spreading the romance with its Quickstep for Valentine’s event. It will take place in Romford Market on Saturday 9 February from 12 noon to 3pm, in partnership with Havering Council’s Valentine’s Day celebrations.

The cast of the Theatre’s sequin studded production Kiss Me Quickstep will be performing an exclusive teaser routine before giving shoppers the chance to participate in a free ballroom dancing demonstration. Bring your sweet-heart or grab a friend and come and dance with us! You don’t need to know your Foxtrot from your Cha Cha Cha to get involved, complete beginners welcome. The first session will begin at 12 noon, which will include a dance demonstration by the cast, followed by a public dance workshop. These 20 minute sessions will occur again at 12.30pm, 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm.

Havering Council will also be providing plenty of free activities for children including a card making workshop, face painting and teacup rides. Bring the whole family along and feel the love this Valentine’s Day.

Amanda Whittington’s warm hearted ballroom drama is playing at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 22 February – 9 March. Kiss Me Quickstep is co-produced with New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich.

Amanda Whittington is a dramatist who has written over 30 plays for UK theatre and radio. She has three titles in Nick Hern Books’ Top Ten Most Performed Plays of 2018: Ladies Day, Be My Baby and The Thrill of Love. Amanda has numerous writing credits for BBC Radio Four, including The Archers. Her 2016 drama D for Dexter won Best Series/Serial in the BBC Audio Drama Awards and the fifth series will be broadcast in November 2018.

She recently revealed more about what audiences can expect from her sequin-studded ballroom drama, Kiss Me Quickstep at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch: 

For those that don’t know the play, what is Kiss Me Quickstep about?

Kiss Me Quickstep is about the highs and lows of competitive dancing.  It’s set at the British Amateur championships in Blackpool and follows three couples as they battle for ballroom and Latin glory.  It’s a world where winning is everything.  We see their relationships pushed to the limit and discover the struggles and sacrifices they make to become champions.  The drama also plays out on the ballroom floor, so we also get to enjoy some highly competitive dance routines.

In 2012, you were one of six writers offered a Making Tracks bursary, towards making a creative journey. Can you tell us more about your experience at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens and how it sparked inspiration for Kiss Me Quickstep?

Making Tracks was a rare opportunity to take a creative research trip and ‘find’ a play.  I chose Blackpool, as it’s the home of ballroom dance and I’d long felt there was a great story behind the glitz and glamour.  Thanks to the bursary, I spent two weeks at the World Championships, held in the gorgeous Winter Gardens.  It was amazing spectacle: 3,000 couples representing 60 countries.  It was a surreal experience, as the frocks, fake tan and fixed smiles of the dancefloor felt a world away from reality.  The dancing was extraordinary but what I didn’t expect to see were the dancers preparing in full view of the audience.   Backstage was actually the back of the ballroom: dresses and tail-suits were hung up in the stairwells, suitcases spilled open in shadowy corners.  It was a world where illusion and truth blurred into one, and that was the starting point for the play.

Shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice have been successfully gripping the nation for over a decade. What is it about these type of dance shows do you think that capture the hearts of those who have never danced before.

I think it’s probably because we’d all like to do it!  There’s a real sense of magic and escapism in those shows, but also the promise that the most unlikely person can become a wonderful dancer.  The ‘best’ celebrity dancers on Strictly aren’t the ones who capture our imaginations; we’re rooting for the underdog who triumphs against the odds.  I think it’s the Cinderella story that draws us in; the ugly ducklings who turn into swans.

This production is the first revival of Kiss Me Quickstep. How is this version going to be different to its premiere?

It’s a completely new cast and creative team, so they’ll interpret the script in a different way and make it their own.  It’s always fascinating for writers to see how a new company tells what appears to be the same story in a unique and surprising voice.  At the first Kiss Me Quickstep read-through, I had a fresh perspective on the characters, which is all about what the individual actors bring to them.  That’s one of the great things about writing for theatre, as opposed to TV, film or novels: the work is made over and over again, and reimagined every time.

What’s going to surprise people about this show?

There’s plenty of humour in the show but we’re definitely not sending up the characters.  It’s easy to make light of the frothy façade of ballroom and Latin but we take the lives of the dancers very seriously.  I interviewed dance competitors, judges and teachers in a bid to capture the reality of competitive dance.  Hopefully, it gives an insight into how much hard work, commitment and stamina it takes to create that effortless perfection on the dancefloor. I’d say the show reveals the iceberg below the surface of the performance, which is something we rarely get to see or appreciate.

You’ve worked with the Queen’s Theatre before. What other productions have you collaborated on?

I’ve been lucky, as the Queen’s Theatre has staged three of my plays: Satin n Steel, Ladies Day and Ladies Down Under.  I think the accessible style of my work sits well here and connects with the audience.  I’ve always really enjoyed working here and I’m delighted to be back with Kiss Me Quickstep, which is one of the most ambitious plays I’ve written in terms of size and scope.  I can’t wait to see it on stage at the Queen’s Theatre.

Why should audiences come and see Kiss Me Quickstep?

If you love dance, it’s a guaranteed good night out but if Strictly isn’t your thing, the play might surprise you. It’s a story about the world we think we know but that hides many secrets.  For me, Kiss Me Quickstep is about the grit in the oyster that forms the pearl.

Kiss Me Quickstep is co-produced by the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich. The show plays in Hornchurch from 22 February – 9 March, transfers to Ipswich from 13 – 23 March and then tours to Theatr Clwyd from 26 – 30 March.

Full casting has been announced for the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich’s sequin studded production of Amanda Whittington’s ballroom drama, Kiss Me Quickstep. The production opens in Hornchurch from 22 February – 9 March, transfers to Ipswich (13 – 23 March) and then will tour to Theatr Clwyd (26 – 30 March); the first time the Queen’s Theatre has worked with this major theatre.

The cast includes David Birch (Matilda the Musical, West End), Michelle Bishop (Strictly Ballroom, West End), Adrian Klein (Memorial, Barbican Theatre), Joshua Lay (Funny Girl, UK Tour), Abigail Middleton (Wondertown, The Bohemians), Garry Robson (The Who’s Tommy, Ramps on the Moon) and Vicki Lee Taylor (Mamma Mia, West End and International Tour). They will be joined by a community chorus of 8 ballroom dancers.

Kiss Me Quickstep will be directed by Kirstie Davis, with design by Jess Curtis, lighting design by Mark Dymock, sound design by James Cook and choreography by Lucie Pankhurst. 

Audiences will be able to fully immerse themselves into the dazzling world of ballroom dancing thanks to the intimate nature of the production’s staging; there will be an additional bank of seats behind the stage. This show will be performed with a traverse stage with actors performing to all sides.

Writer Amanda Whittington says, ‘I’m delighted Kiss Me Quickstep will be dancing into the Queen’s Theatre. The show pulls back the glitter curtain on competitive dance, revealing what it takes to make a ballroom champion, on and off the floor. I can’t wait to see the new production hot-footing across the country, too.’

Audio description via a headset will be available at every performance of Kiss Me Quickstep from Tuesday 26 February, with a Sign Language Interpreted Performance on Wednesday 6 March at 7.30pm and a Dementia-Friendly Performance on Thursday 7 March at 1.30pm.

Kiss Me Quickstep runs at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 22 February – 9 March. Tickets are £12.50 – £29 (plus an additional 65p QNew Transformation fee), with £8 tickets available for Under 26s (Tue – Thu & previews). Audiences can see this show and two more Queen’s Theatre productions (In Basildon and The Hired Man) from just £15 each with a Jump the Q season ticket. Offer ends 9 March.

For more information about Kiss Me Quickstep click here.

For the first time, the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has partnered with one of London’s prestigious drama schools, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to produce Dennis Kelly’s modern day black comedy DNA (7 – 14 Feb). The production, which is a set text on the GCSE English Literature and Drama curriculum, has attracted audiences of more than 30 schools and colleges, with some students travelling as a far as Dorset, West Yorkshire and Lancashire to see this unique collaboration at the Hornchurch Theatre.

DNA was first performed at the National Theatre in 2007 and is tailored specifically for young audiences. It tells the explosive story about a group of teenagers who do something really bad, panic and then try to cover it up.

DNA is directed by the Queen’s Theatre’s Artistic Director, Douglas Rintoul (Abigail’s Party, Priscilla Queen of the Desert), with designer Natalie Jackson, who is a graduate from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, lighting designer Stephen Pemble and sound designer Jack Baxter.

Speaking about the collaboration Douglas Rintoul said, ‘I’ve directed at Central in a freelance capacity, that’s where the contact has come from. I love working with students because they are so used to working together after three years together in college that they have a real bond – almost a language of their own. And that means that you can often go much further with them than is possible with a group of professionals convened for just three or four weeks rehearsal time who don’t initially know each other.’

The production will be performed by eleven final year students from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on the BA (Hons) Acting Collaborative and Devised Theatre Course led by Catherine Alexander. The cast includes Joseph Aylward, Brett Curtis, Mark Foy, Linn Johansson, Marko Kovac, Colette McNulty, Mae Munuo, William Pyke, Sidsel Rostrup, Sam Rhodes and Hughie Stanley.

Douglas Rintoul is also very keen to get local teenagers into the Theatre to see young actors who are still in training. ‘In this area – the outer boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and out into Essex – there is quite a sense that drama school is out of reach. I think DNA will help to demonstrate that it isn’t – and there’s a lot of diversity in this C&D group which will reinforce the message.’

Dennis Kelly is a British writer for film, television and theatre. He co-wrote BBC Three’s sitcom Pulling, Matilda the Musical with comedian Tim Minchin, and the Channel 4 conspiracy thriller Utopia.

DNA runs at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 7 – 14 February and under 26s can see the show for just £8, with standard tickets £14 (plus 65p QNew Transformation fee per ticket).

For more information about DNA at the Queen’s Theatre call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or click here.  

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has today announced the launch of its new Young Changemakers programme. This programme is designed to make sure that young people’s views inform the way the organisation is run – from advising on communications, fundraising and strategy, to acting as ambassadors at events.

The Theatre successfully recruited ten extremely passionate and talented young people, aged 18 – 25, from a wide range of backgrounds, including university students, drama school students and young professionals. The Young Changemakers are Helen Cox, Sherwin Douki, Charlie Hayward, Rebekah Lewis, Jamie Liddle, Efua Lindsay, Lucy Mason, Rowanne Simpson, Lewis Wood and Victoria Vickers.

The Young Changemakers will play a vital role in ensuring the Theatre’s commitment to engaging young people, and creating future generations of young theatre-goers. They will be a representative for young people, and act as an advocate for the Theatre in their own communities.

The group will meet six times formally throughout the year, with each meeting taking on a different project, crucial to the Theatre’s decision making process. The first meeting took place last night, Tuesday 15 January, with the group organising a networking and workshop session for Under 26s for the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s next production, DNA, directed by the Theatre’s Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul. This Under 26s workshop takes place on Saturday 9 February at 7.30pm and is open to the general public. Tickets are £5 and provide access to the workshop and ticket entry to see DNA afterwards at 8pm. Booking in advanced is recommended. The Young Changemakers will manage the social media marketing campaign around it, organise attendance from the actors and director and facilitate the workshop.

If you are aged between 18 and 25 and would like to be involved in the Young Changemakers programme, or would like to know more about the work they do, please contact mirandaw@queens-theatre.co.uk or click here. 

Bows at the ready! The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has today announced this year’s panto spectacular will be the heroic Robin Hood, playing from Thursday 28 November to Sunday 5 January.

Deep in the heart of his foreboding Castle, the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is taxing the poor to pile up his gold, whilst imprisoning brave Maid Marian and her hilarious Nurse Nellie. But the Sheriff hasn’t banked on the arrow slinging hero Robin emerging from Sherwood Forest to target the hand of Marion and outwit the villain’s plans. Can Robin save the day with a little help from his band of Friar Tuck and plucky Merry Folk?

Written by Andrew Pollard and directed by Douglas Rintoul (the Queen’s Theatre’s Artistic Director), this swashbuckling actor-musician panto, is twanging to the beats of pop hits from across the decades, traditional audience participation and laugh out loud family silliness.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday 18 January at 10am and can be purchased online at queens-theatre.co.uk Tickets will be held at 2018 panto prices (£12.50 – £29 plus a 65p QNew Transformation fee) until Sunday 31 March only, so audiences should book early for this Sheriff-busting Christmas adventure!

Queen’s Angels can access a 48-hour priority booking period from Wednesday 16 January at 10am. Queen’s Angels are those who regularly support the Theatre’s work by making monthly donations. Audiences who would like to become a Queen’s Angel and receive priority booking to Robin Hood and other future productions can sign up here: queens-theatre.co.uk/join-support/become-a-queens-angel/

The Queen’s Theatre has also confirmed it will be providing two adapted shows on Thursday 2 January, a Dementia-Friendly performance at 1.30pm and a Relaxed Performance at 5.30pm (for people who would benefit from a quieter environment including those with an Autism Spectrum Condition, sensory and communication disorders or a learning disability), as well as an Audio-Described performance on Saturday 4 January at 2pm.

For further details and to book, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit queens-theatre.co.uk.

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is excited to be launching a spring season of family fun that will immerse children into the wonders of theatre, fuel their imaginations and keep them entertained.

Families with budding little scientists will not want to miss Ministry of Science Live on Saturday 19 January at 12 noon and 3.30pm. This explosive show is not like any ordinary science show – it comes with a bang! But most of all it comes with a hovercraft built on stage…. Oh, and a Human Cannon too! This new production, suitable for children aged 6+, takes a rebellious approach to science communication whilst looking at the inventors and engineers who have shaped and inspired the modern world that we live in. Tickets are £15.50 for adults and £13.50 for under 16s (plus 65p QNew Transformation fee per ticket).

From Friday 25 to Saturday 26 January, families with children aged 7 – 12 years will be transported into an exotic landscape with Three Sat Under the Banyan Tree. Animal tales are brought vibrantly to life with wondrous masks, movement and music. This heart-warming production, from Tara Arts and Polka Theatre, is packed full of wisdom, laughter and leaves plenty to the imagination. The production plays on Friday 25 January and at 11am and 2.30pm on Saturday 26 January. Tickets are £10 (plus 65p QNew Transformation fee per ticket).

Milkshake Live takes over the Queen’s Theatre stage on Saturday 13 April at 11am and 2pm with a spectacular new musical. This brand-new show (suitable for 2 – 6 years) has plenty of laughter, audience interaction and great fun to get everyone up on their feet, starring Fireman Sam, Noddy, Shimmer & Shine, Digby Dragon, Wissper, Nella the Princess Knight and Floogals, alongside two Milkshake Presenters. Tickets are £15.50 for adults, £14.50 for children and £56 for a family of two adults and two children (plus 65p QNew Transformation Fee per ticket).

In The Willows, the hip-hop musical of The Wind in The Willows bursts onto the Queen’s Theatre stage from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 May. With epic show tunes and killer beats, this classic story is brought popping and locking into the twenty-first century and stars the Olivier award-winning Clive Rowe (The Story of Tracy Beaker). Tickets are £21 – £24 for adults and £14 – £16 for children (plus 65p QNew Transformation Fee per ticket).

Little explorers (3+) can join in the fun with We’re Going on a Bear Hunt from Tuesday 30 July to Thursday 1 August. Adapted for the stage from the modern classic, expect catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of adventure! Tickets are £12.50 (plus 65p QNew Transformation Fee per ticket).

The Queen’s Theatre is continuing its Saturday morning programme of ‘family fun for a fiver’ too with a range of interactive workshops and imaginative storytelling. Highlights include magicians Man of Mischief (23 Feb | 11.30am | 6+), Trevor Cline’s Amazing Magic and Balloons (6 Apr | 11.30am | 4 – 8 years) and James Wand (4 May | 11.30am | 4 – 10 years) the educational Living Things Wildlife Show (9 Mar | 11.30am | 4+) and Mad Science (18 May | 11.30am | 4 – 13 years). Tickets are £5 per adult and £5 per child (plus 65p QNew Transformation Fee per ticket).

For more information and to book tickets call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit queens-theatre.co.uk

The Offies (Off West End Theatre Awards) announced their 2019 finalists earlier this week, and the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is delighted to be shortlisted in three categories.

Assessors have nominated Mark Inscoe for Best Male Performance in a Musical in the Theatre’s regional premiere production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Adam Gerber and Tom Self are also up for a joint nomination for Best Musical Director for this record breaking musical.

The Queen’s Theatre’s co-production of its critically acclaimed UK regional premiere of Once with the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich is one of three productions in the running to be crowned Best Musical Production.

Winners will be announced at the award ceremony on Sunday 3 February in the newly re-opened and truly magnificent Grand Hall at Battersea Arts Centre.

The annual awards known as The Offies launched in 2010 to celebrate the excellence, innovation and ingenuity of independent theatres across London, outside the West End.

For more information about The Offies and for the full list of finalists visit offies.london

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is bidding to bag a cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of up to £4,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is one of the groups on the shortlist, and is raising funds towards QNew, an exciting programme of building improvements which will allow the Theatre to make high quality theatre in developed spaces. The funds will contribute towards supporting a number of exciting projects throughout 2019. If all the £1million required is raised, these will include:

• Equipping a new dedicated rehearsal facility on site for the first time in the Theatre’s history
• Dedicating a bespoke new space for the Theatre’s expanding range of learning and participatory work with the local community
• Creating a special room for local and regional artists to try out new ideas
• Building a new look ground floor Bar to complement the busy Café
• Making front of house and backstage much more accessible to D/deaf and disabled people
• Replacing outdated equipment so that it’s cheaper and safer to run
• Installing better air conditioning in the foyer so everyone can be comfortable all year round
• Ensuring the roof and exterior of the Theatre are weather proofed for the future

Voting is now open in Tesco stores across Hornchurch, Elm Park, Romford, Rainham, Brentwood, Collier Row, Cranham and Shenfield until Thursday 28 February (The full list of branches can be found at the end of this article).Customers can cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

Tom Lowe, Relationships Officer at the Queen’s Theatre says, ‘It’s an exciting time for the Theatre and this grant would go a long way in making the Theatre much more accessible for wheelchair users, parents and children and those who enjoy our dementia and relaxed performances. We now need your help to make it happen. Please ask for a token and consider voting for us!’

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said: ‘Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.’

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: ‘Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.’

For more information about QNew click here.

Tesco Branches participating: 

Hornchurch

Ardleigh Green Road –  Express – RM11 2LG

Airfield Way – Superstore – RM12 5AF

Butts Green Road – Express – RM11 2LD

Elm Park

Elm Park Avenue – Express – RM12 4SB

Rainham

Viking Way – Tesco Extra – RM13 9YZ

Rainham Road – Express – RM13 7QX

Romford

Brentwood Road – Express – RM2 5TJ

Fairview Parade/Mawney Road – Express – RM7 7HH

Gallows Corner – Tesco Extra – RM3 0LL

Marlborough Road/Mawney Road – Express – RM7 8AB

Roneo Corner- Tesco Extra – RM11 1PY

South Street – Express – RM1 1RX

Collier Row

Collier Row Lane – Tesco Metro – RM5 3NL

Cranham

Front Lane – Express – RM14 1XL

Brentwood

Hanging Hill Lane – Express – CM13 2QG

Warley Hill – Express – CM14 5HB

London Road – Express – CM14 4QG

Shenfield

Hutton Road – Tesco Express – CM15 8JD

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is delighted to have raised £1,800 from its Christmas Fayre fundraiser on Saturday 15 December. The event was supported by Barclays Hornchurch who generously match funded the money raised.

The funds will contribute towards supporting the Theatre’s Relaxed Performance (Wed 2 Jan at 5.30pm) and Dementia Friendly performance (Thu 3 Jan at 1.30pm) of Jack and the Beanstalk in the New Year. These specially adapted performances welcome people of all ages who will benefit from a relaxed, quieter and supportive environment including people with an Autism Spectrum Condition, sensory and communication disorders, a learning disability or Dementia.

The Theatre’s Christmas Fayre was packed full with stalls, carol singing from Havering Singers and Fairlytes Choir, cakes, treats and games for visitors to enjoy throughout the day, whilst two sold out performances of its pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk performed on the main stage and three performances of its immersive festive treat, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas took place in the Theatre’s new Rehearsal Space.

Tom Lowe, Relationships Officer at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch says, ‘I’d love to say a huge thank you to Barclays Hornchurch for their generous support, to our Theatre Club volunteers and staff for organising such a great day and to everyone who came along and contributed to our Theatre, whether it was buying Christmas cards or enjoying a delicious slice of Christmas cake. It really was a brilliant day of community Christmas fundraising!’