Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch today announces the full programme for its extraordinary fortnight of new and unusual theatre. Blueprint: a festival of new ideas runs at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 12 to 24 September 2022.
Mathew Russell, Chief Executive of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch said: “We’re delighted to be confirming the full programme for Blueprint. The conversations we’ve been having with some brilliant artists about the festival over recent weeks have been so inspiring and we can’t wait for you to experience theatre at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in some entirely different ways. Some of the work is designed for small numbers, so book now to avoid disappointment. Although there will be plenty of opportunities to discover some things nearer the time too.”
The full programme is:
A Different Class by Kenny Emson
Playwright Kenny Emson (The Sh*t, Siren) says he spent the first 18 years of his life trying to pretend he didn’t come from Thurrock and “the next 18 writing about it!”. He describes his new work, A Different Class, which is performed in a promenade staged reading, as a slice of his Essex childhood. The play explores mental health, masculinity and working class culture, from “Going up Southend” on a Friday night with mates to what home really means. A Different Class is a one-man play, directed by Beth Pitts and starring Simon Darwen. With a drum and bass soundtrack.
During Blueprint, the award-winning Emson will also give two free writing workshops.
Centre Stage
An evening of poetry, monologue, music and more, showcasing the best of Essex/East London deaf/disabled and neuro-divergent talent. Featuring DJ Deaf Rave, food and drink, and fun.
Final Farewell by Sudha Bhuchar
Final Farewell is a moving outdoor immersive experience presented as a guided journey through headphones. As audience members wander outside the theatre and listen, they will hear a collection of voices retelling the poignant real-life stories of those who lost people close to them during the pandemic. The stories of love as well as loss have been collected and carefully crafted by writer Sudha Bhuchar for this Tara Theatre production.
Food For Thought
A scratch performance of three 20-minute micro plays specially commissioned for Blueprint from writers of the Global Majority. Each play will feature two actors and after the performance there will be an open discussion with the audience. This is part of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s aim to encourage new voices into the building and develop new talent, taking place in the Learning Space. The plays are: There’s a Mouse in the Kitchen by Cal-I Jones, with Owen Chaponda and Dauda Ladejobi, directed by George Morgan. Like My Skin and Blister by Antoinette Jackman, with Sharon Rose and Deborah Imhogiemhe, directed by Britny Virginia. Finger Food by Somebody Jones, with Adam Karim and Mia Lysandrou, directed by Charleen Qwaye.
Frostiana: A Sensory Experience by Kate Lovell
A secret icy grotto hidden in Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch offers a feast for the senses for anyone who benefits from a relaxed environment. This taster of the interactive experience is inspired by London’s Little Ice Age when Frost Fayres celebrated the freezing of the Thames.
In This Smoking Chaos by Laura Ann Price
This powerful piece of design-led theatre takes over the main stage in the auditorium, where a large cube structure revolves to reveal 31 scenes played out by two performers (Yael Elisheva and Tatenda Matsvai) over 31 minutes. In This Smoking Chaos combines both the physical and dynamic digital space with raw and intuitive forms of emotion. Without beginning or end, it is a durational piece continuously repeated, which audiences can join at any point in the cycle.
Rice and Peas
A pop-up restaurant inside Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is the venue for Rice & Peas, the first major production for theatre company Blouse & Skirt!. In an immersive West Indian dining experience, audiences are served a three-course meal prepared by Executive Chef Jon Bentham (former head chef for Gary Rhodes), while writer/director Mia Jerome’s story unfolds in three acts. The drama begins in Grenada, in 1948, when Figgy and Edith share a meal the night before Figgy is due to leave on The Empire Windrush, and takes in the next eventful 20 years in London.
Shakespeare-On-Sea by Mawa Theatre Company
Two of the founders of Mawa Theatre Company, the UK’s first all Black, all female Shakespeare company, Maisey Bawden and Danielle Kassaraté present a digital project, Shakespeare-On-Sea. Considering the Bard’s maritime imagination through the gaze of Black female artists, the work will have screenings in the foyer and main auditorium.
The Empty Chair by Joe Lichtenstein
Director Joe Lichtenstein returns to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch following his acclaimed 2021 revival of David Eldridge’s Beginning. He has devised The Empty Chair for an audience of two, with six performances a day during the festival in a secret location inside the theatre usually closed to the public. It will be an unforgettable otherworldly experience, led by actor Robert Pickavance with performer Melanie Pappenheim singing live.
This Story Is True For Most Of Us by David Shearing
Award-winning artist David Shearing is known for his immersive multimedia installations. His recent work, the Rising Sun, an immersive multimedia construction filled with light and voices, stopped Romford in its tracks when it was situated in the town centre. For Blueprint he issues an invitation to dine in a climate of food, art and activism. Over the course of five mini tasting moments This Story Is True For Most Of Us is part guided audio and part shared experience that will take festival-goers on to the theatre’s rooftop, offering a space to consume some of the most challenging climate questions of our time, staged in a magical reflective setting.
Through The Ages by the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Technical Team
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Technical Teamcelebrate the remarkable history of our Grade II-listed building, by illuminating it in a spectacular display of colour and archives images of past productions. Presented alongside a musical medley inspired by some of those shows.
Wake Up People by John Webber
John Webber’s Wake Up People, commissioned by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, is a funny and ultimately heart-breaking look at how obsessions can tear an already under pressure family apart. Inspired by anti-vaxxer marches and paranoid YouTube posts, it is presented as script-in-hand performance. Video and sound projections will help to show how the internet is enabling a new pandemic – conspiracy theories – to sweep through local communities. Following her acclaimed role in All My Sons, Eve Matheson returns to Hornchurch, and is joined by Nathan Browne, Laura Doddington, Mark Field, David Tarkenter, Hannah Traylen, and Jacob Williams. The director is Beth Kapila.
In additional to the public programme, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch will be hosting Boost!, a free residential training and developmental lab designed to upskill artists and choreographers/devisers working in contemporary dance or contemporary circus interested in extending their work to the outdoors/or developing their understanding of the outdoor touring sector.
With plenty of discussions and after parties to attend where there’s an opportunity to talk about what has been seen, and meet the makers of the work, festivalgoers won’t want to miss out on this thrilling festival of theatrical discoveries!
Tickets £5 | £3 concessions (unless otherwise stated), plus 65p QNext Fee.
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
For full details and to book, visit www.queens-theatre.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01708 443333.