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The Queen's Theatre is a 507-seat mid-scale producing theatre located in Hornchurch in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. ...

, east London.

History

Hornchurch Urban District Council Hornchurch was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1926 to 1965, formed as an urban district for the civil parish of Hornchurch. It was greatly expanded in 1934 with the addition of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and We ...

purchased a derelict cinema on Station Lane (the site of the present Ripon House development) that had been used for storage during the Second World War. They converted this building into a theatre which opened in 1953, the coronation year of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and its name reflects this. The opening production was ''See How They Run''. The building deteriorated and The London Borough of Havering Council built a new theatre on Billet Lane, designed by Hallam and Brooks. It was opened by Sir Peter Hall in April 1975, with a production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat''. Performances spaces include a 507-seater Main House end-on theatre and a 100+ seater The Other Stage. The Theatre received a visit from the Queen in 2003, the Theatre's fiftieth anniversary, and in 2013 the Theatre celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. The Theatre won the UK Theatre Award for Most Welcoming Theatre (East region) in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2018 the Theatre fundraised £1 million for a small scale capital refurbishment creating a new rehearsal room, a learning space, an artist space and a new bar. It also won the Clothworkers' Foundation Theatre Award at the UK Theatre Awards for its innovative Essex on Stage programme. In 2019 the Theatre, as the lead in a consortium, won an Arts Council England Creative People and Places funding award of £1 million for a four-year programme of arts engagement in Havering. In 2020 the Theatre won the prestigious London Theatre of the Year Stage Award.

Notable Productions and Artists

Because of the high quality facilities and London location, the Theatre has been able to attract top productions and artists. The Theatre has been a home to the award-winning productions Blood Brothers'', '' Return to Forbidden Planet'','' a major revival of Made in Dagenham the Musical, the second iteration of th
National Theatre Public Acts programme As You Like It
and a homecoming fo

Artists who have worked at the theatre include

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...

Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

, Nigel Hawthorn,

Lucy Benjamin Lucy Benjamin (born Lucy Jane Baker; 25 June 1970) is an English actress. After appearing in various television series including '' Close to Home'' (1989–1990), ''Press Gang'' (1989–1993) and '' Jupiter Moon'' (1990, 1996), she was cast in ...

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

, Conn O’Neill, David Eldridge, Chris Bond, Sadie Hasler, Bob Eaton, Glen Walford,

Nichola McAuliffe Nichola McAuliffe (born 1955) is an English television and stage actress and writer, best known for her role as Sheila Sabatini in the ITV hospital sitcom '' Surgical Spirit'' (1989–1995). She has also starred in several stage musicals and wo ...

Charlie Condou Charlie Condou, (born 8 January 1973) is a British actor, columnist and LGBT rights activist. Condou secured a series of television movie roles during his teenage years in the 1980s. He later had guest roles in British television series during th ...

, James Sutton, Tim Firth, Brian Cant and

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

started his professional acting career at the old Queen's theatre. in Over its 65 plus year history, it has built a track record in creating the best in live entertainment. The Theatre is currently run by Artistic Directo
Douglas Rintoul
and Executive Director Mathew Russell. Previous directors include

Stuart Burge Stuart Burge (15 January 1918 – 24 January 2002) was an English stage and film director, actor and producer. The son of H. O. Burge, by his marriage to K. M. Haig, Burge was educated at Eagle House School, Sandhurst, and Felsted School, Esse ...

, Bob Carlton, Anthony Carrick, Ian Clarke, Marina Calderone, Peter Coe,

Ian Curteis Ian Bayley Curteis (1 May 1935 – 24 November 2021) was a British dramatist and television director. Life and career Curteis was born in London on 1 May 1935, and began his career as an actor, joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the m ...

, Henriette Duckworth, James Gillhouley, Jane Howell, David Phethean, Nancy Poultney, Anthony Richardson, Paul Tomlinson, Bob Tomson and Clifford Williams. The Queen's Theatre Hornchurch produces over eight shows a year and has a vibrant learning and participatory programme engaging over 11,000 participants annually, enabling people to express themselves and their stories through the arts. The Theatre works with educational institutions, amateur theatre groups, professional arts groups and wellbeing organisations, but is also connected to the wider theatre ecology in the UK and abroad. Recent partnerships include projects with the National Theatre, the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Derby Theatre, Fiery Angel, Spare Tyre, Leeds Playhouse, Curve Theatre Leicester and The Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.

Funding

The Queen's Theatre is a registered charity and receives regular funding from the

and the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

Queen's Green

Adjacent to the theatre is an open space called Queen's Green.

References

External links

Queen's Theatre website
{{LB Havering Theatres in the London Borough of Havering Producing house theatres in London Producing theatres in England Hornchurch