The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has today unveiled its newest additions to its energetic autumn season of produced work, including productions of Love Unspoken with Spare Tyre, Macbeth co-produced with Derby Theatre and Sparky the Elf and the Secret Toyshop.

The premiere of Spare Tyre’s Love Unspoken in association with the Queen’s Theatre will play in Hornchurch from 2 to 5 October. Pushing the boundaries of non-verbal theatre, Love Unspoken is a visually stunning, dynamic piece exploring love and the journeys it takes. Punctuated by movements of lucidity, the show navigates love stories and poetry through dance, movement, sound and light. This is the final production in a trilogy conceived and directed by Arti Prashar, developed in collaboration with people living with dementia from South Asian communities.

This Christmas, the Queen’s Theatre is bringing back its charming festive adventure, Sparky the Elf and the Secret Toyshop from 5 to 24 December, which will be performed in a secret location in the Theatre. Suitable for accompanied 4 – 9 year olds, this engaging and interactive 45 minute show is guaranteed to get children excited for Santa’s visit as they join in as one of Sparky’s little helpers. The production runs alongside the Theatre’s previously announced swashbuckling actor-musician pantomime, Robin Hood, from 28 November to 5 January.

In spring 2020, the Theatre will be co-producing Shakespeare’s darkest thriller, Macbeth from 7 to 29 February with Derby Theatre. This follows acclaimed collaborations on Abigail’s Party and Abi and the forthcoming revival of One Man, Two Guvnors. Macbeth will be directed by the Queen’s Theatre’s Artistic Director, Douglas Rintoul following his celebrated productions of Much Ado About Nothing and UK Tour of The Crucible, and will be designed by Ruari Murchison. The production will also tour to the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich for a week from 16 March, with more tour dates to be announced. Priority tickets will be available to schools at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 13 May and will go on general sale from October 2019.

Kali Theatre will be taking over the Queen’s Theatre’s stage with its moving and thought- provoking production of Homing Birds by Rukhsana Ahmad from 25 to 26 October. The play asks if life has meaning without a connection to family, home and roots and comes from a finalist for the Writers Guild Award and the Susan Blackburn Award.

A variety of hilarious comedy evenings are lined up throughout the season including the return of Jibbering Jester Comedy Club on Sunday 21 July and Friday 8 February, presenting seven well-known comedians in one night; Desi Central Comedy Show on Sunday 15 September, featuring Patrick Monahan, Kiran Morjaria, Tez Ilyas and Kane Brown and LOL (Ladies of Laughter) with Noreen Khan (BBC Asian Network) with some of the UK’s favourite female acts on Saturday 25 January. Finally, The Indians Are Coming is a brand new comedy show for Diwali featuring Mickey Sharma, Sukh Ojla, Omid Singh and Anuvab Pal and visits the Theatre on Sunday 10 November.

Tickets for these new productions go on public sale on Monday 13 May.

These programme highlights join the Queen’s Theatre’s recently announced produced work which features its Essex Girls and Boys season of two plays by exciting Essex playwrights performing alongside each other. They are the world premiere of Stiletto Beach by Sadie Hasler (4 - 28 September) and the Bruntwood prize-winning So Here We Are by Luke Norris (7 – 28 September) and forms part of the Theatre’s Essex on Stage programme, generously supported by The Clothworkers’ Foundation. This is followed by revivals of Richard Bean’s hilarious smash-hit comedy One Man, Two Guvnors (2 – 19 October, co-produced with Derby Theatre) and The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the Tony-Award winning black comedy thriller by Martin McDonagh (30 October – 16 November, co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre).

For more information about the Queen’s Theatre visit queens-theatre.co.uk

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