theatre club

 

 

Do you enjoy talking about theatre, but find most post-show discussions annoying? 

Do you often see theatre alone, and wish you had someone to talk with about what you see? 

Do you like watching theatre, but sometimes feel like you don’t understand it? 

Come to Theatre Club!  

 

What is it?

It’s a very informal – no membership required – conversation space similar to book groups: people see a show, then gather to chat about it. No specialist knowledge is needed, and snacks are provided, making it an extra-friendly occasion.

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. At Theatre Club, audiences share their questions and responses with each other. Confused? Bored? Delighted? It’s all welcome!

How does it work?

Sometimes Theatre Club happens immediately post-show, and sometimes people see the show on different days and return to the theatre or meet online for the conversation. I host it and always have a few questions I’m interested in, to move us along if needed – but the best Theatre Clubs are genuine conversations, a shared dialogue not led by me.

Where does it happen?

In the past Theatre Club has happened all across England, but as an experiment for 2023, I’m building relationships with two particular theatres: Cambridge Junction, and the Omnibus Theatre in London. During the pandemic I started hosting Theatre Clubs online, and will keep that going as well. So if you don’t live in London or Cambridge, please join in on zoom!

When? When? When?

London dates

I'm in the process of organising spring/summer theatre clubs at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, SW4 – email me to find out more!

DATE TO BE CONFIRMED (POSSIBLY MAY?): Minority Report, at Lyric Hammersmith, London

In 2020 I started attending reading groups with Abolitionist Futures, to learn more about the politics of imprisonment and alternative models of responding to harm. I’ve found them useful, hopeful, transformative to my thinking about society, and I mention it here partly to encourage everyone to get involved in their work but also because Minority Report – based on a story by Philip K Dick – is also concerned with systems of incarceration and blame, and the different ways that humans might deal with crime. The conversation with the Lyric Hammersmith about theatre club is moving very slowly so no date for this yet but I’m aiming for early May.


Cambridge dates

7.30pm, Wednesday 20 March: Out, at Cambridge Junction

Created by Ray Young, Out is a show that sometimes puzzles audiences, which makes me extra excited to be hosting Theatre Club for it. At once a celebration of LGBT+ dance cultures, refusal of homophobia and transphobia, and dialogue with elders (without a word being spoken), it’s equal parts inviting and defiant and offers plenty to talk about.

7.30pm, Wednesday 1 May: Karrasekare, at Cambridge Junction

Choreography duo Igor & Moreno make sometimes funny, sometimes fierce work rooted in the folk traditions of Sardinia and the Basque country, where each of them is from. This new work is inspired by carnival and gets very, very naked. A perfect place to be on May Day, and think about resisting the ordinary run of life.

All dates at Cambridge Junction have pay what you feel ticketing – you could come to all three of these shows for less than the price of a single ticket elsewhere!


Online dates

7.30pm, Sunday 24 March: A Place for We

Originally performed at the Park Theatre in London in 2021, this play set in Brixton across three generations considers the lives of the Windrush generation and their mistreatment at the hands of successive UK governments. I missed it when it was first performed so I’m delighted to have this opportunity to catch up with it, and would love it if people brought their memories of the original production along to Theatre Club as well. Unlike live Theatre Clubs, please watch this BEFORE Sunday 24 March, ready for the conversation starting at 7.30pm GMT.

7.30pm, Sunday 28 April: Best of Enemies

A confession: I’ve had an antipathy to the plays of James Graham since seeing This House at the National Theatre several years ago. However, this play – depicting the televised spats between presidential commentators William F. Buckley Jr and Gore Vidal in a crucial year for radical politics, 1968 – has been much recommended to me and, let’s face it, the polarised debate between left and right is hardly yesterday’s news. Unlike live Theatre Clubs, please watch this BEFORE Sunday 24 March, ready for the conversation starting at 7.30pm BST.

Both of these can be rented without a full subscription being needed – I think it's £7.99 per play, with 48 hours in which to watch.