Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

Theatre Exterior
Address	Billet Lane London England
Capacity	500
Opened	1975
Website
www.queens-theatre.co.uk

The Queen's Theatre Main House

The Queen's Theatre is a 500-seat producing theatre located in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London.

The theatre opened in its current purpose-built site on Billet Lane, Hornchurch in 1975.

From 1953 to 1975 the theatre had occupied a converted, and for some time derelict, cinema on Station Lane (the site of the present Ripon House development) that had been used for storage during the Second World War. The theatre originally opened in the coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II and its name reflects this. The opening production was See How They Run.

The building deteriorated and the London Borough of Havering built the new theatre. It was opened by Sir Peter Hall in April 1975, with a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Home to the original productions of the award-winning Return to the Forbidden Planet and Blood Brothers, performers such as Maggie Smith, Martin Shaw, Joan Plowright, Prunella Scales, Nigel Hawthorn, Carol Sloman, Lucy Benjamin, Gemma Salter, Bernard Cribbins, Conn O’Neill and theatre-makers and artists David Eldridge, Chris Bond, Bob Carlton, Bob Eaton, Glen Walford, Nichola McAuliffe, Tim Firth, Dan Murphy and Richard O’Brien the Queen’s Theatre, over its 60 plus year history, has built a track record in creating the best in live entertainment.

The theatre's current artistic director is Douglas Rintoul who was appointed in 2015. The theatre's previous artistic directors include Bob Carlton and Marina Calderone.

The Queen's Theatre produces over eights 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 Queen’s Theatre works with educational institutions, amateur theatre groups, professional arts groups and wellbeing organizations, but is also widely connected to the larger theatre landscape in the UK and abroad.

Current partnerships include co-productions with the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Salisbury Playhouse, Watford Palace Theatre, Rifco, Sell a Door and The Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.

Behind the scenes there is a carpentry workshop, scenic artists and a wardrobe department creating sets and costumes on-site.

The theatre was honoured with a visit from HM The Queen in 2003, the theatre's fiftieth anniversary, and in 2013 the theatre celebrated its Diamond Jubilee.

The Queen’s Theatre is a registered charity and receives regular funding from the London Borough of Havering and is an Arts Council of England National Portfolio Organisation.

Queen's Green

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

External links

• Queen's Theatre website