Following its incredible run at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, this show will be touring FOUR community venues throughout Havering. Tickets are available at the unbelievable price of just £10. The price includes both the show and a 3-course meal! You can book your tickets through the links at the bottom of the page.

About Rice & Peas

This is the first major production from Blouse & Skirt and is inspired by Artistic Director, Mia’s, family history. Through each delicious West Indian course, you’ll 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 2 years.

But, when Edith arrives in London 2 years later, she carries a secret that threatens to tear apart their dreams of the Motherland…

About the Menu

Executive Chef, Jon Bentham – former Head Chef to Gary Rhodes, designed this delicious vegetarian menu. A vegan option is available on request.

Amuse Bouche

Callaloo Soup

[Vegan] – Mustard

Appetiser

Green Fig & Oil-Cornmeal Biscuit

Soused Green Fig Salad

[Vegan] – Coconut oil, carrots, onion, cucumber, lime, scotch bonnet, celery, and tomatoes

Main Course

Oil Down – Rice and Peas

[Vegan] – Celery, Gluten, Soya, Mustard

Mac and Cheese

[Vegetarian] – Dairy, Gluten, Mustard

Dessert
Grenada Spice Cake – Bitter Chocolate Mousse – Vanilla Seed Ice Cream

[Vegetarian] – Dairy, Eggs, Soya

Grenada Spice Cake – Chocolate Mango Mousse – Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

[Vegan] – Soya

Please note: The menu is subject to change. Unfortunately, we cannot cater to certain allergens so please check the menu for allergen information. There are no alternative menu options available. Please note that we cannot guarantee a nut-free environment.

Performance times & dates

Harold Hill

Chippenham Road Children’s Centre, The Arcade, 85-89 Chippenham Rd, Harold Hill, RM3 8HP

Tues 27th Sep | 1.30pm | 7.30pm
Wed 28th Sep | 1.30pm | 7.30pm

Orchard Village

Mardyke Community Centre, South St, Rainham RM13 8PJ

Thurs 29th Sep | 7.30pm
Fri 30th Sep | 7.30pm
Sat 1st Oct | 1.30pm | 7.30pm

Rainham

Royals Youth Centre, Viking Way, Rainham, RM13 9YG

Tues 4th Oct | 1.30pm | 7.30pm
Wed 5th Oct | 1.30pm | 7.30pm

Romford

YMCA Romford, 29 Rush Green Road, Romford, RM7 0PH

Fri 7th Oct | 1.30pm | 7.30pm
Sat 8th Oct | 1.30pm | 7.30pm

Click here to book tickets

Running time = 90 minutes (no interval)

Mia Jerome founded Blouse & Skirt Theatre Company in 2021 to celebrate stories, songs, performers and puppets from the African-Caribbean diaspora. She studied Creative Writing and Television at Kingston University and trained as an actress and theatre maker at Fourth Monkey Theatre Company.

Mia (Writer, Director, and Producer), and Jon (Executive Chief), will be joined by Luke Circus as Senior Sous Chef, Simon George as Commis Chef, Anne Odeke as Dramaturg, and Wesley Laing as Sound Designer.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has been supporting the development of Rice & Peas for the past year, before programming this production as part of the Blueprint festival.

• Theatre Nation Partnerships is an innovative network of theatres and community organisations founded by the National Theatre in 2017 to grow nationwide engagement with theatre
• The new programme will reach over 500,000 audiences, artists and participants across England over three years including in Outer East London and South Essex
• Theatre Nation Partnerships is supported by the National Theatre and a £1.25 million award by Arts Council England, made possible thanks to National Lottery players

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch will extend its involvement with the Theatre Nation Partnerships (TNP) network today.

Since 2017, the programme has engaged with over 222,000 participants, audiences and artists, including across England. In Outer East London and South Essex it has delivered three schools tours, and created a Public Acts performance in collaboration with local community organisations.

Three productions will tour directly into schools in Havering over the next three years, with a touring production of new play Shut Up, I’m Dreaming visiting secondary schools across the area from January 2023, as part of a national tour reaching over 12,000 students. Devised and directed by The PappyShow following residencies in three schools in Sunderland, Wolverhampton and Wakefield to bring young people’s voices into the heart of the creative process, Shut Up, I’m Dreaming explores the ambitions, hopes and feelings of the next generation in an uncertain world. The touring production will be accompanied by a post-show Q&A, teaching resources and professional development workshops for teachers.

A new TNP production of Roy Williams’ award-winning play Sucker Punch, produced by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, will open in Hornchurch in March 2023. 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. Further tours of landmark productions will take place in 2024 and 2025.

Already announced, an epic multi-version production of The Odyssey will be retold in five episodes created and performed by artists and communities, with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch supporting the fifth episode taking place at the National Theatre in August 2023. The production marks the fifth anniversary of Public Acts, the NT’s nationwide initiative to create extraordinary acts of theatre and community.

Speak Up which sees young people working in collaboration with local artists and teachers to lead creative projects will continue to work in schools in Havering from October 2023. This dynamic programme has been developed with Theatre Nation Partners to inspire young people to speak up about the issues that matter to them and will reach 140,000 young people nationwide.

The new partner organisations joining the Theatre Nation Partnerships (TNP) network today are Restoke, Regent Theatre & Victoria Hall (Ambassador Theatre Group) in Stoke-on-Trent, Peterborough New Theatre with Selladoor Venues, Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple and The Landmark in Ilfracombe, North Devon with Selladoor Venues, Curve in Leicester, and Trowbridge Town Hall. Together, the 14 partner organisations will engage over half a million people over three years, more than doubling the existing reach of the network.

Theatre Nation Partnerships is supported by a £1.25million award from Arts Council England, made possible by National Lottery players. The National Theatre will triple this investment through further fundraising and commercial activity, and almost 90% of the total will be spent outside London directly in partner areas.

Mathew Russell, Chief Executive of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch said, “Audiences and communities, including thousands of school children, from Outer East London and South Essex have benefited so much ‎from the life changing opportunities offered by the first phase of Theatre Nation Partnerships, including the rather extraordinary Public Acts version of ‘As You Like It’, produced by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. As founding partners, we can’t wait to work with and learn from any even wider array of theatres with shared values across the country and to engage with an increasing range of young people, artists and underrepresented and underserved communities to share and shape the power of world class theatre. We’re particularly proud to be producing and opening the first TNP mid-scale tour – a landmark production of Roy Williams’ ‘Sucker Punch’.”

Rufus Norris, Director of National Theatre said, “Theatre Nation Partnerships has shown how effectively a network of theatres can work together to inspire new audiences for theatre, deepen roots within communities and create more opportunities for the next generation to engage in the arts. Our nationwide work is a key part of the National Theatre’s activity and we look forward to welcoming our new partners on board, learning from each other and creating an even bigger impact across the country over the next three years”.

The route is today announced for Final Farewell, a self-guided audio production that arrives at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in a blaze of glowing reviews. The dramatic audio experience, created by pioneering theatre company Tara, is presented on 23 – 24 September, as part of the Theatre’s Blueprint Festival.

The self-guided walking tour leads participants around the area immediately outside Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, starting at the theatre. The route takes in Queen’s Theatre Green, Langtons Gardens and Fielders Woodland and Wildlife Pond. The journey is expected to take 75 minutes.

As they walk, people will listen to four moving stories based on real-life accounts of loss during the pandemic. The original stories were collected and recreated by writer Sudha Bhuchar and directed by Tara’s Abdul Shayek, to present a deeply-felt experience of love and resilience. The stories are told by actors giving voice to Shahin, Baby Han, Ann and Oberon.
Theatre bible The Stage gave Final Farewell ★★★★ when it was presented at Greenwich + Docklands International Festival earlier this month,. The Stage noted: “The monologues are direct and heartfelt, a penetratingly strong reminder of all the pain still being felt by thousands in the aftermath of the pandemic. Final Farewell offers a balm to those mourning and for others yet to mourn.”
It was another ★★★★ review for Final Farewell from website ToDoList.London, which said: ‘Final Farewell invites us to listen, learn and reflect – and succeeds in warming the heart – just make sure you have some tissues handy.’
Tara Theatre Company’s latest production Silence, also based on personal testimonies, this time from those living through the last days of the British Raj, finished its critically acclaimed run at the Donmar Warehouse this weekend (17 September), before dates at the company’s own theatre in SW18.

After a successful first week, Blueprint Festival of new ideas continues at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch for a second week of non-traditional forms of theatre to be 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 cal set of 31 scenes in 31 minutes, Shakespeare on film and digital and musical innovation.

Final Farewell is playing 23 & 24 September throughout the day. Tickets cost £5, £3 concessions +65p QNext fee. Click here to purchase tickets.

To see the whole route click here

Festival Pass

(with the exception of Rice & Peas, The Story Is True For Most Of Us and Boost!)

Book 4 Blueprint events and get 50p off each ticket

Book 6 Blueprint events and get £1 off each ticket

Add the events to your basket and the discount will apply automatically. Get 20% off food and drink at QBar and The Cafe by showing your festival pass.

A trio of micro plays commissioned for our Blueprint Festival of new ideas are all based on one theme, Food For Thought, but they could not be more different.

Festival-goers can see script-in-hand performances of the three 20-minute plays that feature a mouse, a wake and a trendy restaurant in one festival event.

The programme, curated by Danielle Kassaraté (Associate Director Talent Development) and playwright Somebody Jones, includes discussion time after each play when the audience is invited to join the conversation about the work with the creative team and actors.

Food For Thought is part of our ongoing mission to encourage new voices into the building and develop new and local talent, particularly from the Global Majority.

The first play in the programme is There’s a Mouse in the Kitchen, written by Cal-I Jonel and directed by George Morgan. It looks at the relationship of an anxious student with a rodent phobia and his sporty older brother, played by Owen Chaponda and Dauda Ladejobi.

In Antoinette Jackman’s Like My Skin and Blister secrets are revealed between two cousins in the kitchen after a family funeral. Sharon Rose and Deborah Imhogiemhe play the two young women and Britny Virginia Albert directs.

Finger Food by Somebody Jones and directed by Charleen Qwaye is a thriller set in a trendy restaurant, where Adam Karim and Mia Lysandrou are meeting to get their stories straight about their missing friend

Food for Thought is playing 21 & 23 September at 3 pm in the Learning Space. Tickets cost £5, £3 concessions +65p QNext fee. Click here to purchase tickets.

Festival Pass

(with the exception of Rice & Peas, The Story Is True For Most Of Us and Boost!)

Book 4 Blueprint events and get 50p off each ticket

Book 6 Blueprint events and get £1 off each ticket

Add the events to your basket and the discount will apply automatically. Get 20% off food and drink at QBar and The Cafe by showing your festival pass.

David Shearing is an award-winning artist who creates immersive multimedia installations. His recent work, The Rising Sun, a building filled with light and voices, stopped Romford in its tracks when it was situated in the town centre earlier this year.

Designed to represent a public house, The Rising Sun space offered a magical environment to experience, while listening to the recorded stories of the people of Romford.

Now the artist has found another intriguing space to invite visitors and stimulate conversation. For his Blueprint Festival event at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Shearing presents This Story is True for Most of Us, on 23 and 24 September. It will take place (weather permitting) on the roof of our recently grade-II listed building.

Shearing says: ‘I can’t wait to get people up there to gaze over the rooftops of Hornchurch, all the way towards Dartford in one direction, and London in another.’

He will seat visitors – an intimate maximum gathering of 12 for each performance – at a 10-metre long table set up on the roof for five brief plant-based tasting moments, while he leads them via headphones towards some of the most challenging climate questions of our time.

‘Each tasting moment is designed to question our relationship with the natural world,” Shearing says. “Expect little bursts of flavour and a deconstruction of food to its simplest form.’

This Story is True For Most Of Us is presented by Shearing in collaboration with designer Paul Burgess and the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Environmental Responsibility Group.

More than anything, This Story Is True For Most Of Us in a project created to inspire conversation about the environment.

Shearing says: ‘This project invites us to look at the details, to examine our relationship with plants and how they shape us, to take a breath. Being on the rooftop enables us to zoom out, to see it all from a distance, away from the hustle of everyday life. Food offers us a way to be together, to break bread with a stranger and propose a toast to a new future – it will be a very special experience.‘

Mathew Russell, Chief Executive of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch adds: ‘We are thrilled that David Shearing has found a way to open up to festival-goers such a privileged view from our roof. Blueprint as a festival was always conceived as a theatre-takeover, using every space of the building, bringing every corner to life with theatre and art and letting visitors into bits of it they haven’t seen before.’

A free exhibition of prints with video from Shearing’s The Rising Sun also runs in Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch foyer throughout Blueprint, 12 – 24 September.

Click here to book