theatre club
Do you love theatre, and wish you had more people to talk with about it?
Do you secretly eavesdrop on people during an interval or after a show, to find out what they thought?
Do you wish theatre offered more spaces to connect and chat?
Come to Theatre Club!
What is it?
It’s a bit like a book group: you see a show, then meet with friendly people to chat about it. All are welcome, snacks are provided, and I’m there as the host with abundant curiosity.
Who is invited?
Anyone who saw the show! But not the people who made it, which makes Theatre Club very different to the usual post-show Q&A. Got a comment, not a question? Secretly hated the show? Feel like you didn’t understand it? Come to to Theatre Club!
How does it work?
You watch the show on any day that suits you, and come to the discussion on the advertised date. To make life simpler, that’s usually post-show in the bar, but sometimes it’s online. I host the conversation and always have a few questions I’m interested in, to move us along if needed – but the best Theatre Clubs are genuine conversations, to which everyone brings their curiosity and points of view..
Why do people come?
Why don’t I hand you over to some of the people who come for this bit? They say:
“There's something about the range of people, opinions and reasons for attendance that is beautiful, theatre club brings me into contact with people and opinions that differ and I value that.”
“I like the friendliness and the format and the chance to share my love of theatre with like-minded people.”
“We could talk so freely and I got so many different takes/opinions and I felt safe to disagree, it was chewing it over with people I didn't know that was so great – new opinions!”
💙💛💙
Where does it happen?
I have an ongoing relationship with Cambridge Junction, who have supported Theatre Club since 2023, enabling some extraordinary conversations, from a group of teenagers responding to a show featuring people aged 60+ to a multi-ethnic group dissecting an evening inspired by Sardinian carnival. It’s a wonderful community so if you’re in the area, do join us!
I also host Theatre Clubs ad-hoc around London (with an often remarkable lack of support from theatres themselves). And because not everyone lives in the bottom of the country, there are always a couple of Theatre Clubs each season watching digital work and then chatting online as well.
Although all the listings can be read online, I also have a mailing list where I share additional theatre recommendations and reminders. Do join if you're interested!
When are the next dates?
Below are all the upcoming dates I have in mind. If you like the sound of Theatre Club and would like me to host one in your area, please get in touch!
At Cambridge Junction
7.30pm, Wednesday 10 September: Swiping Right
This show sounds so juicy: it dives into the phrase “opposites attract”, looking at political divides in relation to love and friendship. As host of Theatre Club I’m always keen for it to be a ‘brave space’, where people can bring views and thoughts that entirely contradict each other, listening and being heard: I’m curious how our conversation will interact with the dialogues in the show. Booking here: https://www.junction.co.uk/events/swiping-right/
7.30pm, Wednesday 15 October: Philosophy of the World
In Bed With My Brother make loud, messy, Marmite theatre, not to everyone’s taste – although the many positive reviews for Philosophy of the World at the Edinburgh fringe suggest this one is going down a treat. It’s inspired by a 1960s garage band called The Shaggs, three sisters who could barely play and were forced to do so by their dad, played in this story by the very brilliant Nigel Barrett. Cue lots of noise, lots of feminism, lots for us to discuss. Booking here: https://www.junction.co.uk/events/philosophy-of-the-world/
7.30pm, Wednesday 12 November: Handle with Care
A key element of Theatre Club is not having the artists who made the show in the room while we talk. Handle with Care removes the artists from the theatre altogether. Belgian company Ontroerend Goed are old hands at creating participatory work that startles and unsettles its audience. With this new show, they invite us to make the performance ourselves, figuring it out together. Let’s be brave – and then let’s meet at Theatre Club to share how it really felt. Booking here: https://www.junction.co.uk/events/handle-with-care/
In London
7.30pm Thursday 11 September: Deaf Republic, at the Royal Court
A new show by Dead Centre, incorporating BSL, and imagining collective resistance: everything about Deaf Republic calls to me. The shows I’ve seen by Dead Centre – Lippy, Chekhov’s First Play, Hamnet – have been fascinating, stories told slant, thrillingly theatrical. Theatre Club will happen after the performance on Thursday 11 September, but you can see it in advance and return post-show for the discussion if that suits you better. Booking here: https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/deaf-republic/
7.30pm Tuesday 14 October: Bog Witch, at Soho Walthamstow
I’m going to admit, at the moment of writing this I haven’t been to Soho’s new building in Walthamstow, so I’m taking a guess that we’ll find somewhere to sit and talk… The show, however, I feel more certain about: it’s the latest solo piece by Bryony Kimmings, who has chronicled her life over the past 15 years in a series of charismatic, often funny, always in some way thought-provoking shows. Theatre Club will happen after the performance on Tuesday 14 October, but you can see it in advance and return post-show for the discussion if that suits you better. Booking here: https://sohotheatre.com/events/bog-witch/
3pm Saturday 22 November: Precipice, at New Diorama
Truly this is the season of Theatre Club experiments: I’m pretty sure I’ve never held a conversation after a matinee... The show itself is an experiment too: a new musical with a brilliant sci-fi dystopia premise, merging people in the near present and 400 years into the future in a single flat – an enticing spin on kitchen-sink drama, right? Theatre Club will happen after the matinee performance on Saturday 22 November; but preview prices at the New Diorama are cheaper so don’t forget you can see the show sooner and return for the discussion. Booking here: https://newdiorama.com/whats-on/precipice
7.30pm Wednesday 10 December: After Sunday, at the Bush
People who work in theatre, I’ve heard, hate plays that involve food on stage but I love them, which is why I’m drawn to this story of a Caribbean cooking group for patients held in a secure hospital. I’ll bring snacks for afterwards but it might be as well to eat beforehand… Theatre Club will happen after the performance on Wednesday 10 December, but you can see it in advance and return post-show for the discussion if that suits you better. Booking here: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/after-sunday/
8pm Monday 19 January: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Museum, at the Young Vic NOTE: NOT HAPPENING POST-SHOW!
The last of the season’s experiments, although this isn’t a new idea but an old one: Theatre Club won’t happen after the show, but at the same time, so that we can be chatting in the bar space at the Young Vic while it’s a bit more quiet. Partly this play caught my eye because, while on holiday in Athens over the summer, I saw some beautiful, heartbreaking work by artist Michael Rakowitz considering the impact on the Baghdad Museum of the US attack on Iraq: seek him out if you can. But I’m also a huge fan of the work’s director, Omar Elerian, who has a knack for weaving the surreal with the sharply political. Definitely see this show BEFORE Monday 19 January, then come to the Young Vic bar for a discussion at 8pm that day. Book tickets here: https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/bengal-tiger-the-baghdad-zoo
Online
Helpful notes: these online chats happen on zoom and they really are like book groups – you need to watch the show BEFORE joining the zoom call! If the price would make it hard for you to watch the show, email me and we can see if we can figure something out together… I share the zoom link on the newsletter, or you can email me for it.
8pm, Sunday 26 October: Retrograde, via NTatHome
Originally performed at the Kiln and later in the West End, this play by Ryan Calais Cameron is set in 1950s Hollywood, when Sidney Poitier was at the cusp of becoming a star. I’ve been thinking a bit about resistance in theatre this year; having missed this play on stage, I’m curious how Poitier’s refusal to be manipulated might feel like a useful model for current action.
8pm, Tuesday 2 December: Hedda, via OT on Screen
Another Hollywood star, Merle Oberon, is the inspiration for this adaptation of Hedda Gabler by Tanika Gupta: Oberon hid her Indian parentage to become a star, and Gupta weaves this into Ibsen’s tale of blackmail, now set in the late 1940s, following India’s independence. You can see this while it’s on stage, or via the OT on Screen film, and join the conversation on 2 December.