The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is set to launch a very exciting audio and visual exhibition inspired by local voices, Women’s Stories of Ford Dagenham.

Women’s Stories of Ford Dagenham celebrates the exceptional women who worked at Ford Dagenham between 1968-1984 who fought for women’s equal pay. The strikes of 1968 and 1984 influenced history by revolutionising women’s rights and is still significant in today’s local community. Join us to celebrate their wonderful stories and remarkable achievements.

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch recruited and trained 10 young women from the local community to interview and record stories from over 50 machinists, Ford Dagenham workers, family and friends. Discover the friendships forged, the good times spent and the hardships fought whilst on the picket line striving for equality. The documentary video will showcase an eclectic range of transcripts, stories and personal photographs, exploring how far we have come since those cold winter days and how much further we must go to achieve equal rights for all.

Following the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s critically acclaimed premiere of Made In Dagenham last year, the documentary will enable a physical passing down of history from one generation of women to the next.

The documentary can be watched in full here:

The exhibition will tour to local venues, starting at the Havering Museum from 8 – 17 February and finishing at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 16 – 29 May. The full tour schedule is as follows:

8 Feb -17 Feb | Havering Museum

20 Feb – 6 Mar | Dagenham Library

7 Mar – 26 Mar | Valence House Museum

27 Mar – 18 Apr | Brentwood Road Gallery, Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls

18 Apr – 1 May | Romford Central Library

2 May – Fri 12 May | Rainham School for Girls

16 May – 29 May | Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

The exhibition is open to the general public. For more information about the exhibition, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit http://www.womensstoriesofforddagenham.co.uk/

A number of Queen’s Theatre staff are limbering up for this year’s Brentwood Half Marathon to raise money for the theatre’s Learning & Participation department.

Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul ran last year and raised over £2,000 for the theatre. He will be running the Brentwood Half Marathon again on Sunday 19 March and this time will be joined by Abi Booth (Wardrobe), Ashley Darran (Finance) and Tom Lowe (Fundraising). Running in the 5K race on the same day will be Claire Bailey-Day (Admin Assistant), Lewis Tomlinson (Workshop), Ben Collins (Technician) and Peter Thorne (Front of House).

The Learning & Participation department offers a variety of programmes that enables everyone the chance to discover and nurture their performing arts talents. Last year, the Learning & Participation team at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch facilitated 20,670 engagement opportunities across Havering, East London and Essex with people of all ages and backgrounds. This includes producing high quality productions involving the local community, training young people in theatre skills both on stage and behind the scenes and assisting schools in delivering the curriculum in an innovative way. This year the youth theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Donations received will contribute towards continuing this work that promotes creativity, helps build confidence and enables participants to develop new skills and make like-minded new friends.

The Queen’s Theatre has recently faced significant cuts from local government so donations are vital for the theatre to continue bringing arts into the community.

Anyone that would like to support the Queen’s Theatre’s vital work, they can do this at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/QueensTheatreRunners. The theatre aims to raise £3,000.

As a registered charity, the Queen’s Theatre receives regular funding from the London Borough of Havering and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation but also relies on donations and a wide range of fundraising activities and initiatives in order to be able to continue its work across the region.

For more information about the Queen’s Theatre and its Learning & Participation programme visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/get-involved/youth-theatre/

Are you hoping to grab yourself a bargain on your next theatre trip? Look no further, we’ve got some awesome discounts available on our spring season opening show, The Crucible!

Preview tickets from just £12.50

Be one of the first people to watch this spine-tingling thriller and pay as little as £12.50 at the show’s two preview performances. You can even secure top-price seats for just £19.50 – that’s a saving of up to £10.50 compared to Friday and Saturday nights and £7.50 for midweek performances!

Preview performances are on Fri 17 and Sat 18 Feb at 7.30pm. To book tickets call our Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/the-crucible-2/

Tickets for previews are selling fast so don’t delay!

Limited £1 tickets up for grabs

£1 tickets are up for grabs to watch for Havering residents who have never been to the Queen’s Theatre before.

As part of the Queen’s Theatre’s Good Neighbour Scheme, an inventive new drive to make the performing arts as accessible as possible for everyone, £1 tickets are on offer to residents of the Borough who are new to the Queen’s Theatre for the 7.30pm show on Monday 20 February.

Anyone interested should call the Box Office on 01708 443333 and quote ‘Good Neighbour Scheme’. This is a limited offer so customers are urged to book very soon.

Midweek concessions (Mon – Thu evenings & Thu matinees only)

Come to one of our midweek performances and save up to £4 on your ticket. Plus we’ve got some awesome discounted tickets available:

Over 60s | £3.50 off full-price tickets

Disability Living Allowance claimants | £3.50 off full-price tickets

Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support claimants | £8 off full-price tickets

Groups of 8+ | £4 off full-price tickets

Equity/Bectu/SDUK | £7 off full-price tickets

To take advantage of these offers call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit the theatre in person.

Under 26s and students – listen up!

We’re offering you an even cheekier bargain – sit anywhere in the house for just £9.50 on preview nights – Fri 17 and Sat 18 Feb at 7.30pm.

Can’t make the previews? Come to one of our midweek performances instead (Mon – Thu evenings and Thu matinees) and we’ll give you £7 off full-price tickets. What a bargain!

To secure these discounts call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit the theatre in person.

About The Crucible:

Written by renowned American playwright Arthur Miller (All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge), The Crucible is inspired by the true story of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 – 1693.

In a tight-knit community, a group of girls is caught dancing wildly in the woods. Terrifying allegations of witchcraft ensue. Lust, superstition and personal grievances collide and the whole village is quickly consumed by an unstoppable flow of fear, paranoia and manipulation – no person is safe from its neighbour and the noose. Who will survive?

The Crucible is co-produced with Selladoor Productions in association with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. It will premiere at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 17 February – 11 March before going on tour across the UK and to Luxembourg.

For more information about the production visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/the-crucible-2/

The cultural hub in the heart of Havering, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, today announced the final members of its leadership team with the appointment of a new Chair and Executive Director.

The Queen’s Theatre is excited to reveal Claire Gevaux as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees. She succeeds Dennis Roycroft who said,
Claire brings invaluable experience from other arts organisations to the Queen’s Theatre. In addition, Claire’s appointment as Chair together with Mathew and Douglas creates a new and dynamic executive leadership team capable of building on the Queen’s Theatre’s reputation nationally.’

Claire Gevaux is very much looking forward to leading the theatre during this very exciting time and welcomes the newly appointed Executive Director, Mathew Russell.

‘We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Mathew Russell who will join Artistic Director, Douglas Rintoul as joint Chief Executives at the Queen’s Theatre. Mathew joins us at an exciting time and brings a wealth of skills and experience that we need to deliver an inspiring vision for the future. We’ve already achieved an incredible amount in the last year; winning ‘Most Welcoming Theatre’ award, refreshing our brand, creating innovative programmes to support local artists through ‘Outer Limits’, engaging a more diverse audience with the theatre as well as taking our work out to communities. Mathew’s appointment completes our new leadership team and we are looking forward to continuing with this ambitious vision for the Queen’s Theatre as the leading cultural hub in Havering, outer London and beyond.’

Mathew Russell is currently Executive Director at Cast in Doncaster, a major new arts centre in South Yorkshire that opened in September 2013. Previous to this, Mathew was Chief Executive at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, overseeing a significant period of organisational change. From 2009 – 2014, Mathew spent five years as Executive Director of Watford Palace Theatre and before that eight years as Executive Director of Greenwich+Docklands Festivals.

As Executive Director, Mathew will oversee the delivery of the theatre’s business objectives ensuring that it thrives both artistically and financially now and in the future. He succeeds Thom Stanbury and Interim Chief Executive Mary Caws. Of his appointment, Mathew said:

‘I’ve seen some brilliant theatre at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, and very much admire its rich heritage, the warm support it enjoys from audiences and the recent impressive changes under the leadership of new Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul. I’m looking forward to working with the Board, Doug and staff team to help realise some exciting projects in the pipeline, on stage and off, and contribute to the continuing development of this much loved and vitally important regional theatre.’

Since Douglas Rintoul was appointed Artistic Director 18 months ago at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, he has pioneered a new era of creative collaborations with UK theatres and supported emerging local artists. The theatre is set to undergo even more exciting development under the direction of its two newly appointed leaders.

Over 200,000 people enjoy the Queen’s Theatre’s programme every year, including the best in home-produced theatre, visiting live entertainment and inspiring Learning and Participation projects.

As part of our upcoming production of the comedy Worst Wedding Ever, we’re looking for funny or quirky wedding photos and we’re welcoming local people to share the pictures that make them laugh.

These could be showcasing retro fashion and hairstyles, dancefloor disasters, wardrobe mishaps or cheeky children getting up to no good…

The photos will be projected in the auditorium prior to each performance and used at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch as well as at the partner venues in Ipswich and Salisbury.

Please e-mail jpegs to rachel@queens-theatre.co.uk by Tuesday 24th January 2017. Please do not send in hard copies of photographs and do ensure you have permission from subjects to share them.

Worst Wedding Ever runs from 15 March – 1 April. To book tickets visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/worst-wedding-ever-2/ or call our Box Office on 01708 443333.

Coronation Street’s Charlie Condou and Call The Midwife’s Victoria Yeates get ready to begin rehearsals for a major production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible this January.

Charlie Condou, who is best known for playing Marcus Dent on the UK’s best-loved soap, Coronation Street will be taking on the role of witch-hunter Reverend Hale in the spine-tingling thriller, The Crucible. Condou’s theatre credits include playing the lead in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway comedy drama Next Fall that premiered in the West End in 2014 and The Narrator during the 2013 UK tour of cult classic The Rocky Horror Show.

Appearing with Condou in The Crucible as Elizabeth Proctor is Victoria Yeates, who was most recently seen in the BBC period drama Call The Midwife Christmas Special. She has been a regular on the drama since series three and previously starred in Holby City.

The Crucible is co-produced with Selladoor Productions in association with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and will premiere at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 17 February – 11 March before going on tour across the UK and to Luxembourg.

Written by renowned playwright Arthur Miller, The Crucible revolves around the history of the infamous Salem witch-trials in 1692 – 1693. Douglas Rintoul, the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s resident Artistic Director that thrilled audiences with his smash hit sell-out musical Made In Dagenham, will be directing. The Crucible is about more than just a witch-hunt and promises to submerge audiences into a melting pot of lies, hysteria, greed and manipulation. Audiences will be engrossed right from the beginning as they witness the young Abigail Williams tear through the village like a whirlwind to inflict fear and death. No one is safe.

Audiences can see The Crucible using the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Jump the Q season ticket, which enables them to see three fantastic shows from a mere £14 per show, a huge saving of up to 45% on top-price tickets. The two other shows available using Jump the Q are the laugh out loud comedy Worst Wedding Ever which runs from 15 March – 1 April and the joyous Willy Russell timeless and inspirational comedy Educating Rita from 22 April – 13 May.

For more information about The Crucible at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the Jump the Q Season Ticket, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/the-crucible-2/

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is delighted to be helping the community inject more theatre into their lives in 2017 by offering a super-affordable Jump the Q season ticket scheme from just £42. These generously priced offers give audiences the chance to get the best seats at the best prices for three fantastic productions with savings of up to 45%. That’s the equivalent of £14 per show!

See TV stars Charlie Condou of Coronation Street and Call The Midwife’s Victoria Yeates in the Spring season opening show The Crucible. Written by the renowned playwright Arthur Miller, the terrifying witch-hunt classic about the infamous Salem witch trials runs from 17 February – 11 March. This major new production is being directed by the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul (who most recently directed the highly acclaimed smash-hit musical Made in Dagenham) and will tour the UK and abroad following its premiere in Hornchurch.

Next, join the biggest party of the year with the brand new comedy Worst Wedding Ever which runs from 15 March – 1 April. Penned by Broadchurch writer and soon to be Executive Producer of Dr Who in 2018, Chris Chibnall, this laugh out loud rib-tickler about downsizing wedding preparations is dubbed to be one of the biggest new comedies theatre has seen in years and comes with a live wedding band.

Finally, audiences will not want to miss Willy Russell’s timeless and inspirational comedy, Educating Rita which runs from 22 April – 13 May. The iconic and hilarious classic about a university professor and a gobby hairdresser wanting to better herself will offer something truly unique for Queen’s Theatre audiences as the stage will be extended into the auditorium to offer a more intimate experience.

Audiences can choose between a Saver ticket for £42 (Tuesday – Thursday) or upgrade to a super-flexible Weekender ticket for £52 which offers savings of up to £38 on top-priced tickets. This offer must end by 11 March 2017.

For more information about Jump the Q and to book tickets call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/join-support/jump-the-q/

Single tickets for all three shows can also be purchased online, by phone or in person.