Category: Queen’s news

Following a sell-out run during their recent Blueprint Festival, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch are delighted to announce that Mia Jerome’s Rice & Peas is going on tour, supported by Creative Estuary. The show will be touring to two community venues in South Essex from 11 – 15 October. Rice & Peas current tour across Havering, visiting four community venues as part of Havering Changing, has entirely sold out!

These tours build on the success of two previous Creative Estuary co-commissions, Tales from the Thames and Princess Essex. In 2021, Creative Estuary launched an initiative which aimed to showcase 60 miles of the North Kent and South Essex region as one of the UK’s most dynamic and creative areas in the whole of the UK. Vickie Donoghue’s Tales from the Thames toured to 10 community venues in unrepresented and underserved locations in South Essex, reaching over 300 people. Anne Odeke’s Princess Essex successfully toured to community venues in eight areas of South Essex.

Rice & Peas is the first major production for Blouse & Skirt! A three-course, three-act immersive dining experience inspired by Artistic Director, Mia’s, family history. Through each delicious West Indian course, audiences will be transported back to discover the heartache and courage it took so many to start a new life in Great Britain.

Grenada, 1948. Couple Figgy and Edith enjoy a meal the evening before Figgy boards The Empire Windrush – both blissfully unaware they will not see each other for two years. But, when Edith arrives in London two years later, she carries a secret that threatens to tear apart their dreams of the Motherland…

The delicious vegetarian set menu is prepared by Executive Chef, Jon Bentham (former head chef for Gary Rhodes) and Luke Circus as Senior Sous Chef. A vegan menu is also available.

The cast includes Nicole Dayes as Edith; JD Hunt as Marcus; Damian Lynch as Figgy; Khrystalle Moriah as Marion; and Daiyaan Simeon as Michael.

The creative team are Mia Jerome as writer, director and producer; Anne Odeke as dramaturg; and Wesley Laing as sound designer.

The Menu

Amuse Bouche: Callalloo Soup

Appetiser: Green Fig & Oil-Cornmeal Biscuit, Soused Green Fig Salad,

Coconut oil-carrots-onion-cucumber-lime-scotch bonnet-celery-tomatoes

Main Course: Oil Down – Rice and Peas, Mac and Cheese

Dessert: Grenada Spice Cake – Bitter Chocolate Mousse – Vanilla Seed Ice Cream, Grenada Spice Cake – Chocolate Mango Mousse – Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

★★★★★ “Mia Jerome’s ‘Rice and Peas’ sets the bar astronomically high for concept of immersive theatre and it will be an experience I will be pondering on for a while to come.” Alwaystimefortheatre.com

“A clever, meticulously thought-out experience with a great atmosphere established, I highly recommend!” Theatrefullstop.com

Tickets for Rice and Peas are £10. The price includes both the show and a 3-course meal. The show can be experienced at The Backstage Centre, Purfleet on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 October at 1.30pm and 7.30pm. And, West Tilbury Village Hall on Friday 14 October and Saturday 15 October at 1.30pm and 7.30pm. For more details and to book, click here.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has today announced three productions for its Spring 2023 season, which will include the world premiere of Rebus: A Game Called Malice by Ian Rankin and Simon Reade, produced by Dan Schumann, Lee Dean and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. Playing 2 – 25 February, the new Rebus story will be told exclusively on stage. Rebus: A Game Called Malice will be directed by the award-winning Robin Lefevre.

Then, from 2 – 18 March, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch premieres its commission of The Flood by Thurrock based nationally acclaimed playwright, Vickie Donoghue. This major new drama, inspired by the Canvey Island floods of 1953, is an extraordinarily tender and timely play about calling‎ a place home – and what that really means. The Flood will be directed by Stef O’Driscoll (part of QTH’s Creative Leadership Team), set and costume designed by Khadija Raza, with lighting design by Rajiv Pattani, and sound design by Dominic Kennedy.

Finally, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, will be producing a new Theatre Nation Partnerships production of Roy Williams’ award-winning play Sucker Punch from 30 March – 15 April. After opening in Hornchurch, Sucker Punch will be touring the UK. Directed by Nathan Powell, Sucker Punch is a bruising and funny play, winner of the Alfred Fagon Award, which explores being young and black in the 80s.

Mathew Russell, Chief Executive of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch said: “Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is thrilled to be announcing a Spring 2023 season of exciting event theatre, with three new productions. A‎ world premiere of the next exciting Rebus story told exclusively on stage; a world premiere of an extraordinary cross generational commission made in and about a moment in Essex but resonating beyond; a landmark revival of an acclaimed play about being young and black in the 80s, opening in Hornchurch before touring nationally. Unmissable live theatre experiences we can’t wait to share with audiences.”

Audiences can save money with a Jump the Q Season Ticket. See all three of these shows from just £15 per ticket. Find out more at www.queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/ jump-the-q-season-ticket-autumn-2023

Spring Season 2023 tickets go on sale to the Theatre’s Queen’s Angels on Tuesday 27 September at 2pm. To find out more about Queen’s Angels visit: www.queens-theatre.co.uk/join-support/become-a-queens-angel

Tickets will be available via general on sale from Thursday 29 September at 2pm. To book tickets, visit queens-theatre.co.uk.

 

The Offies (Off West End Theatre Awards) today announced three nominations for two Blueprint Festival productions at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, The Empty Chair and In This Smoking Chaos.

Assessors have nominated Robert Pickavance for Best Performance in an IDEA Production, for his role in the The Empty Chair, produced and commissioned by the Theatre for its first ever Blueprint Festival of new ideas. The production is also nominated for Best Design in an IDEA Production – Set.

Set in a secret location inside the theatre and shrouded in secrecy to preserve an element of surprise for future life, The Empty Chair is an intimate dramatic experience with huge themes for an audience of two, performed by Pickavance with live musical accompaniment by Melanie Pappenheim. The two performers co-devised the work with director Joe Lichtenstein.  Thirty-minute performances of The Empty Chair took place at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch for six performances a day, 12-17 September.

Also nominated in the Best Design in an IDEA Production – Set & Lighting are Laura Ann Price and Stephen Pemble for In This Smoking Chaos. The design-led production is dominated by a revolving five-metre tall cube on the main stage of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. Projections and bold lighting illuminate the cube, which reveals different facades and interiors of the constantly shifting scenery as it turns. A soundtrack of high-octane contemporary music sets the emotional tone of the raw drama for two performers that is part theatre, part dance, part cinema. In This Smoking Chaos continues as part of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Blueprint Festival until 24 September.

The Offies finalists will be announced in January 2023. Winners will be revealed at the award ceremony after that, date to be announced.

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

The Blueprint Festival opened on 12 September and runs until 24 September. The programme includes 12 mostly new works of non-traditional forms of theatre performed in and around the recently Grade II-listed building. From the basement to the roof and the carpark, as well as the auditorium and foyer. There are immersive and devised pieces, staged play readings, a dramatic design-led production on a revolving cube set of 31 scenes in 31 minutes, Shakespeare on film and digital and musical innovation. For more information about the Blueprint Festival click here.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch have today announced the cast and creative team for Kenny Emson’s A Different Class, playing Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 September at 7.30pm as part of the Theatre’s Blueprint Festival.

Tag’s out with the lads on his last night before he leaves to go to university. The car crawl in Southend. But the empty seat in the car where his mate Luke should be sitting in the is playing on his mind. That and the fact they’ve agreed to an illegal race at midnight against a Cowboy in a Honda Civic.

A Different Class is a script in hand exploration of mental health, masculinity, and working-class culture set in Essex. With a drum and bass soundtrack that will blow the doors off the theatre – literally!

Simon Darwen will be playing Tag in the new play. Simon’s theatre credits include Beginning (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Theatre Royal Bath), Missing People (Leeds Playhouse/National Theatre Tokyo), King Lear (Theatre Royal Bath), Mad About the Boy (Young Vic), Lizzie Siddal (Arcola), Love Love Love (Paines Plough), Our Country’s Good (Out of Joint) and The Merchant of Venice (Royal Shakespeare Company). His TV credits include Russell T Davies’ Years and Years for BBC/HBO starring Emma Thompson, Rory Kinnear and Russell Tovey; The Bletchley Circle, Silent Witness and the BBC’s Call the Midwife.

Simon said: “I’m delighted to be doing this. A script in hand, first exploration of this wonderful one-man show by Kenny Emson.” 

Joining Simon as Luke is 16 year old local performer Rhys Leach. Rhys has been part of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s QYouth group for the past four years. He recently starred in the QYouth summer musical Never, Never.

A Different Class is written by multi-award-winning writer for stage and screen Kenny Emson. Kenny co-created, co-wrote and was associate producer on the BBC’s ground-breaking multi-platform murder mystery The Last Hours of Laura K which earned him a BAFTA nomination in Digital Creativity and a number of other prestigious television and VFX awards nominations. He adapted Agatha Christies The Coming of Mr Quin for digital media which was BAFTA CYMRU nominated for Best Game. He was selected for the BBC Writers Academy in 2011 and has gone on to write episodes of Doctors and Eastenders.

Kenny was one of four writers commissioned by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch to pen Misfits “Sharply written quartet of monologues presents a compelling snapshot of contemporary Essex” (The Stage). He also recently took his new play, a no holds barred look at the role of youth work on the margins of our society, to Essex on Stage at the Bush and Leeds Playhouse. Kenny returns to Hornchurch for this unique promenade performance which features a post-show Q&A with the creatives.

Kenny Emson said “I’m super excited to be bringing my new play A Different Class to the Blueprint Festival. I was born in Thurrock and this play really is a slice of my childhood. Exploring mental health and masculinity. Going up Southend on a Friday night with your mates. And what home means and how that changes as you grow up. So, it’s an absolute privilege to be able to share it with an Essex audience at the Queen’s at this stage in its development.”

A Different Class will be directed by award-winning director and dramaturg of new work Bethany Pitt. Bethany’s directing credits include: Juniper and Jules by Stephanie Martin (Soho Theatre / previously VAULT Festival – Show of the Week Award) Sirens by Kenny Emson (Mercury Theatre, Critics Choice 2021 BritishTheatre.com); A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Gynecologic Oncology Unit by Halley Feiffer (Finborough Theatre, UK premiere – 3 x Off West End Nominations), Spine (Underbelly Edinburgh / Soho Theatre / UK Tour – Fringe First Winner); FreeFall by Vinay Patel (Pleasance Islington – Nominated for Off West End Best Director).

Bethany said: “I’m delighted to be developing and directing Kenny’s new play because it touches on the vital subject of male mental health and class in a funny, moving and revealing way. His writing is an essential reflection of part of society we often look away from or ignore. I’m especially excited about making a promenade piece around QTH with a banging soundtrack.”

Blueprint: a festival of new ideas has something for everyone. Two weeks of 12 exciting events inside and outside the theatre using every available space from the rooftop to the basement and carpark – with new writing, immersive experiences, a scratch night, culinary delights, a design-led drama of 31 scenes in 31 minutes, promenade performances, Essex stories, accessible performances, DJ Chinaman and more. Most events are £5 plus 65p QNext Fee and some are free.

In addition, during the festival, Kenny Emson will be offering two free writing workshops on Monday 19 September 1pm – 2pm, and Wednesday 21 September 3.30pm – 4.30pm. Advanced booking is required.

For more details about A Different Class, the writing workshops and the full programme of the Blueprint Festival, click here. Blueprint runs from 12 – 24 September.

Cast and creative team announced for In This Smoking Chaos, playing 15 – 24 September as part of the Theatre’s Blueprint Festival.

Part theatre, part art installation, part cinema – artist and designer Laura Ann Price and her team of collaborators have devised a raw human drama of 31 scenes in 31 minutes. It will be played by two performers, who act, dance and perform spoken word poetry and create live soundscapes. Laura is interested in how design and scene changes can tell a story beyond words.

This production is led by its design. The playing space is an impressive five-metre high cube on the main stage of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch that revolves to reveal the different facades and interiors of the constantly shifting scenery. Projections and bold lighting illuminate the cube, and a soundtrack of high-octane contemporary music sets the emotional tone of the haunting drama.

From the poetic paintings of Edward Hopper to the “disrupt and disturb” cinema of Gaspar Noé, In This Smoking Chaos is inspired by a whole range of cultural influences. Classical music meets rave meets ambient sound on a soundtrack originally inspired by the heartfelt music of Fred Again (the DJ and producer to Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and Aitch).

Laura Ann Price represented the UK at Prague Quadrennial, an international event that aims to bring together the best of performance design, scenography and theatre architecture from around the world every four years. To celebrate the diversity of performance design in the UK, the Society of British Theatre Design selected some of the most exciting artists working today to exhibit in a show called Staging Places: UK Design for Performance 2015-2019. She showcased her 2018 design for Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads for Leeds Playhouse.

Other design credits include: The Rising Sun in association with David Shearing, Donmar Resident Design Assistant, Hello & Goodbye (York Theatre Royal), Dinner 18:55 (Leeds Playhouse), Linbury Finalist 2019, Talking Heads (Leeds Playhouse), Economy of Ecology (New Diorama & HOME Manchester), and Heretic Voices (Arcola Theatre).

31-year-old Laura said “Blueprint is opening doors for creatives to explore ground breaking ways of working both inside and outside of conventional theatre spaces. To be afforded the opportunity to experiment and create with the support of the technical staff at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is a game changer for me as an artist and designer. Thanks to QTH for taking a risk at a time when it would’ve been easy to fall back into safe norms and for championing artists and new work.”

Laura’s collaborators are: Raisa Daya Deputy Stage Manager, Jitney (Old Vic/Headlong), Bring It On (Southbank Centre); Charlie Derrar Director, Dramaturg and Lyricist, Hand of God (The Hope Theatre), Clockwork (Bolton Great Hall); Yael Elisheva Performer and Deviser, Pride Table (Avenues: The World School), Take On Me (Retro Factory); Bar Groisman Movement Director and Deviser, This Is Not A Show About Hong Kong (Edinburgh Fringe – Fringe First Award), Bar co-founded Sababa Co (a contemporary dance theatre company); Tatenda Matsvai Performer, Deviser and Lyricist, Anybody of Water (Theatre Peckham), Dark Matter (Black Womxn In Theatre); Stephen Pemble Lighting Designer, All My Sons and Neville’s Island (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch); and Anna Short Sound Designer, Seven Celebrations (Orange Tree), I Know I Know I Know (Southwark Playhouse).

Blueprint: a festival of new ideas has something for everyone. Two weeks of 12 exciting events inside and outside the theatre using every available space from the rooftop to the basement and carpark – with new writing, immersive experiences, a scratch night, culinary delights, promenade performances, Essex stories, accessible performances, DJ Chinaman and more. Most events are £5 plus 65p QNext Fee and some are free.

Tickets for In This Smoking Chaos are £5, £3 concessions. For more details about In This Smoking Chaos and the full programme of the Blueprint Festival, click here. Blueprint runs from 12 – 24 September.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch today relaunches its QCafé situated in the Theatre’s large foyer space at the front of the building.

The newly decorated café now ties in with the recently redesigned Box Office and QBar. As well as boasting a modern, sleek appearance, the café has a brand-new menu.  Customers can select breakfast items such as stack of American pancakes, a granola mixed berries and yoghurt breakfast bowl, or an avocado and cream cheese bagel. For lunch and dinner, the Theatre offers a variety of hot and cold meal options from jacket potatoes with a filling of choice, to a hearty steak and ale pie. Staff are excited to add ‘poke bowls’ to the new menu which include avocado, edamame beans, carrots and cucumber on a bed of white rice, with a choice of tuna, chicken, or simply just plain. The delicious new menu also has options for vegetarians, vegans and customers who require gluten free food.

Megan Withers, Customer Services and Facilities Manager said: “The main focus behind the relaunch of the café was to give it a modern, fresh look and to tie in with the rest of the foyer. Alongside this, we have introduced an extremely exciting new menu which is filled with an extensive range of bites and dishes. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or gluten free, we cater for all! From the classic cottage pie to a falafel and hummus sandwich, we really do have something for everyone. If it’s not something savoury that takes your fancy and you’re after a sweet treat instead, we have an array of cakes and bakes, a particular favourite amongst our staff is the tasty apple crumble cake.

The QCafé staff are also delighted with the new look and have stated that it’s easier to work in and use, that it looks stylish and modern, and that the new menu has a wide selection of tempting products. We look forward to welcoming you all soon.”

Over the last three years Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has been looking at ways to become more sustainable. This was an essential factor to consider during the refurbishment of the café. The works were carried out by the Theatre’s own Facilities Team, materials were reused from their in-house workshop, LED lights were installed and new energy efficient appliances, including a hot plate, chiller, and new coffee machine, were purchased.

QCafé are running the following special offers:

Opening Day Special (Mon 15 Aug only) –
Get a free hot drink when you buy a slice of cake

Pre-Order Meal –
Get a hot meal and a drink for just £10 when you pre-order
(pre-orders must be made at least 24hr in advance)

Coffee and Cake –
A coffee of your choice and a slice of cake for just £4.50

Lunch Meal Deal –
A sandwich or a baguette, a bag of crisps, and a drink for only £5.00

Hot Meal Special –
‘Hot Meal of the Day’ for just £7.50

For more details about QCafé and the Theatre, click here or call the Box Office on 01708 443333.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Derby Theatre are thrilled to announce the cast and creative team for their co-production of Jekyll and Hyde this autumn.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic tale will be brought vividly to life through Neil Bartlett’s brilliant and extraordinary adaptation, and through a stellar cast and creative team. Playing at Derby Theatre from Friday 30 September until Saturday 22 October and at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from Wednesday 26 October until Saturday 12 November.

Playing the title role(s) of Jekyll and Hyde will be Nicholas Shaw, whose numerous theatre and TV credits include: Beauty and The Beast and Brassed Off (New Vic Theatre); Wonderland (Nottingham Playhouse); Nell Gwynn (Shakespeare’s Globe/Nimax); Wolf Hall Parts 1 & 2 (Royal Shakespeare Company  at Winter Garden Theatre, NYC), and for TV:  Bridgerton, After Life, Endeavour and Young Wallander, to name but a few.

Nicholas will be joined by Polly Lister as Dr Stevenson. One Man, Two Guvnors and The Hound Of The Baskervilles (Bolton Octagon)  Abigail’s Party – UK Theatre Award Winner – Best Performer, Fallen Angels, The Memory Of Water, Blue Room, Hayfever, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Our Country’s Good and Private Lives (Theatre By The Lake, Keswick); and Great Expectations, Solace of the Road and Cooking with Elvis (Derby Theatre); plus Doctors, Coronation Street and Emmerdale for TV); Charlie Buckland as Lanyon. Olivier-nominated play, This House (National Theatre/Garrick Theatre, London); Oscar Wilde in In Extremis written by Neil Bartlett (King’s Head in London and UK tour); Mr Selfridge (ITV); and an award-winning short film Lonely in Lockdown: Couples Therapy; Hilary Greatorex as Matron and Mrs Poole. Who Needs Stephen King? (Ink Festival); All for One (Theatre by the Coast/mtp Productions); and Friday Night Dinner, Coronation Street and Waterloo Road for TV); Tife Kusoro as The Girl. Animal Farm (National Youth Theatre); and making her professional debut with this co-production of Jekyll and Hyde; James Morrell as the Inspector Spring Awakening, Nell Gwynn and Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (ALRA South). James has also amassed over a quarter of a million followers on TikTok, taking the internet by storm!; Craig Painting as Enfield. Oliver Twist (Leeds Playhouse and Ramps on the Moon); The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (Bloomsbury Theatre, London and No. 1 UK tour); The Jungle Book (The Old Rep in Birmingham & No. 1 UK tour); Soonchild (Red Earth Theatre); Flathampton (Royal & Derngate in Northampton), plus Casualty and Doctors for TV; Levi Payne as the Guest. Teechers Leavers 22 (Hull Truck); Love Hurts? (New Vic Theatre); Hidden Histories (Mind the Gap/On the Wire); Mother Courage and Her Children (Red Ladder); plus Brassic 3 and Coronation Street for TV; and Robert Vernon as Utterson. Marlowe’s Fate (White Bear); Great Expectations (Rotherhithe Playhouse); The Rivals, Dial M for Murder, The Vertical Hour (Theatre by the Lake);  A Doll’s House, Beauty and the Beast (Sherman, Cardiff); Solace of the Road (Derby Theatre); plus Father Brown and Casualty for TV.

The creative team for Jekyll and Hyde is Neil Bartlett (Adaptor); Sarah Brigham (Director); Jessica Curtis (Designer); Deborah Pugh (Movement Director); Simeon Miller (Lighting Designer); Omar Khan (Assistant Director) and Stuart Allen (Producer).

Jekyll and Hyde is the latest collaboration between Derby Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, following on from previous co-produced successes, including Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh (“Cringing brilliance”, The Guardian), and a companion piece called Abi by Atiha Sen Gupta (“Delightfully enjoyable”, Broadway Baby); Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors (“Gloriously daft and highly entertaining”, The Stage) and Shakespeare’s Macbeth (“Slick and Polished”, British Theatre Guide).  

Jekyll & Hyde will play at Derby Theatre from Friday 30 September until Saturday 22 October before transferring to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch to run from Wednesday 26 October until Saturday 12 November. 

“If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also”

Dr Jekyll is well respected but when a momentous scientific discovery is made, it spins into a double life in which inner demons threaten to take control.

In the streets of Victorian London, respectability is mixed with murder. As two identities begin to blur, we are invited to delve into what makes Jekyll tick. Why do the bystanders choose to let them get out of control, as they battle to defeat the monstrous alter-ego inside?

“An assured and sufficiently gripping production” ★★★★
London Theatre 1 on Macbeth at Derby Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

“A dark and chillingly atmospheric adaptation from Neil Bartlett, Sarah Brigham and a fine ensemble cast”
The Stage on Great Expectations at Derby Theatre

Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director, Derby Theatre and Director, Jekyll and Hyde) said:
“I am thrilled to be once again co-producing with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch.  We share an ambition to bring brilliant theatre to local audiences to challenge, delight and entertain and I hope this production does just that.

This fresh new adaptation by Neil Bartlett gives audiences everything they expect from this well-known story, but also introduces three new space-taking female characters. It is these three women who drag the violence and secrecy of Hyde out from the shadows of the Victorian gentlemen’s club, into the light.  

I’m delighted we have brought together a stellar cast to tell this classic tale, which will have a visceral and explosive feel wrapped up in the dark mystery of Victorian London on stage. The talented Nicholas Shaw takes the title role, but it really is an ensemble company who never leave the stage, as this pressure cooker of a play comes to its dramatic climax.”

Mathew Russell (Chief Executive, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) said:

“As we embark upon the adventure of our next exciting co-production with Derby Theatre, we couldn’t be more delighted with the quality of the company that’s been assembled for this landmark new adaptation. 

This ensemble have a fantastic set of credits to their names, having performed in the best of theatres‎ across the country, as well as in favourites on screen. It’s always so satisfying to see the stage shared between seasoned performers and those making their professional debut. 

Under the guidance of an accomplished and brilliant creative team, led by Sarah Brigham directing and Jessica Curtis designing, we can’t wait to get into rehearsal.”

Tickets
Tickets for the Derby Theatre run: £11 – £33.50, under 26s £14 – £31.50 (£5 on Friday evenings); schools £11 (one free with every 10 purchased). For more information and to book tickets, call the Box Office on 01332 593939 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk

Tickets for the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch run: £12.50 – £29 (plus 65p QNext fee); under 26s £8; schools £10 (one free teacher ticket with every 10 purchased). For more information and to book tickets, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or click here.

Mawa Theatre Company has announced the cast for Shakespeare-On-Sea, a short film project exploring Shakespeare’s maritime imagination through the gaze of Black female artists in Essex. The project will run as part of the Blueprint: a festival of new ideas at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 12 to 24 September 2022.

SHARON ROSE (‘HAMILTON’, ‘JINGLE JANGLE’) will play PROSPERO in THE TEMPEST, MIA JEROME (‘SQUAD GOALS’, ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’) will play ADRIANNA in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, JOSEPHINE MELVILLE (‘LITTLE MISS JOSCELYN’ ‘EASTENDERS’) will play NURSE in ROMEO & JULIET.

The film will be directed by Mawa’s Artistic Director Maisey Bawden and Executive Director Danielle Kassaraté, their first collaboration with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch since they joined the creative leadership team this year.

Maisey Bawden says: “Following our first digital project last year, we are so excited to put Shakespeare on film once again, this time honouring some of the fantastic talent we have here in Essex. Making Shakespeare digestible and accessible is so important to us and we hope by giving our audiences free access to Shakespeare as it has never be seen before, in bite size chunks will inspire a new generation of theatre goers’

Sharon Rose says: “Having grown up deep in the heart of Essex and experiencing a drought of representation in the arts growing up, seeing and now being a part of Mawa Theatre Company is pure joy. It reminds me that I matter and that my stories matter and that I am not entirely invisible to the thing I love. Mawa Theatre Company is food for the soul. A safe space to refresh, replenish and spring forth.”

There’s free entry for Shakespeare-On-Sea but advanced booking is required. For more details and to book tickets, click here.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich have today announced the full cast and creative team for the first UK revival and regional premiere of the Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical Kinky Boots. The production will also mark 10 years since the musical’s debut at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre in 2012.

The new production, which will be directed by Tim Jackson, will run at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich from 1 – 24 September (Press Night: 8 September) and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 28 September – 22 October (Press Night: 29 September).

Based on the Miramax motion picture, the musical adaptation features a Tony-Award nominated book by Harvey Fierstein and Tony and Grammy award-winning music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper.

Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited a struggling shoe business from his dad, which he’s desperate to save. He unexpectedly bumps into a larger than life drag queen Lola, who’s looking for some sturdy stilettos. They think they’ve nothing in common, but as the unlikely pair ruffle a few feathers, designing some fabulous footwear for the factory floor, perhaps they do…

The new production sees Tim Jackson reunite with the two theatres, having previously choregraphed their celebrated revival of Made in Dagenham. Tim Jackson has also previously worked with the New Wolsey Theatre as director and dramaturg of The Stage Debut Award-winning co-production of The Season (Royal and Derngate, New Wolsey).

The full cast announced today are: Jay Anderson (he/him) as Angel, Will Arundell (he/him, Queen of the Mist) as Harry/Bailey/Onstage Musical Director, Matt Corner (he/him, The Last Ship) as Charlie, Aruhan Galieva (she/her, Doctor Who) as Lauren, Keanu Adolphus Johnson (he/him, Never Lost At Home) as Lola, Josephine Lloyd-Welcome (she/her, Goldie’s Oldies) as Georgie, George Lynham (he/she/they) as Angel, Roddy Lynch (he/him) as Don, Cavan Malone (they/them) as Angel, Tim Parker (he/him, Once) as Mr Price, Anna Soden (she/her, Five Children And It) as Nicola, Lucy Elizabeth Thorburn (she/her) as Pat and Hiromi Toyooka (she/her) as Angel. Casting for Young Lola and Young Charlie will be announced at a later date.

The full creative team are: Daniel Denton (Misty) as Video Designer, Tony Gayle (Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical) as Sound Designer, Crystal Hantig as Choreographer, Charlie Ingles (Anyone Can Whistle) as Musical Supervisor & Arranger, Tim Jackson (The Season) as Director, Jamie Platt (The Last Five Years) as Lighting Designer, Amanda Stoodley (Bloody Elle) as Set & Costume Designer and Molly Wilsher (The Kitchen Sink) as Assistant Director.

Tim Jackson said of the new production, “I am thrilled to be collaborating with this incredible bunch of super-humans, within the acting company and the creative team alike. The casting process has been a real joy – we’ve met such talented folk and roared with laughter every day. Person after person has shared in their connection to the show and its wonderful characters, and I am thrilled to have found an ensemble of exceptional performers who all lead with kindness and heart. Each actor is bringing something special and individual to our rehearsal room, and there is a powerful collective desire to make this new production a beautiful celebration of self-love, individuality and acceptance. With a cast of 13, we can revel in the intimacy of the 2005 film on which the musical is based, and allow our audiences to feel part of the factory community. And when we need to let rip, we’ve got a company that can bring a spectacular, explosive, contemporary energy. Audiences should expect stellar actor-musicianship, killer vocals and dazzling, high-octane (high-heeled!) dancing, all packaged within a funny, empowering, heart warming story.”

There will be British Sign Language, Audio Described and Captioned performances available at both theatres. Tickets are now on sale, click here.