2023

Treasure Island

Our Christmas show celebrated 10 years of Lamphouse Theatre. Treasure Island featured a slew of silly-singalong-sea-shanties, plenty of preposterous pirates, dozens of doubloons and one absolutely breathtakingly talented parrot.  

The Playful Actor and the Clown Weekend Intensive

In August Tom jetted off to Belfast to work at the Lyric Theatre teaching people to clown around (this is a job apparently?!) and had a wonderful time doing it!

Stage Combat Course

At the very beginning of 2023 we hosted a 3 day stage combat workshop with MC Combat. 10 rapier wielding students spent a long weekend learning single sword technique and ultimately all passed their exams with flying colours! 

Smoke & Mirrors (Again)

For Bonfire Night our lovely friends at Jumped Up Theatre asked us to bring back our Gunpowder Plot story for their Smoke and Mirrors festivals at Paston Farm and Westraven Community Garden. Boom.

Hollywood Movie at Peterborough Celebrates

In May we spent 2 days running around a field in pink high vis vests, directing unsuspecting festival goers in dodgy American accents. The lovely folks at Nene Park asked us to make a fim about wonder and joy at Peterborough Celebrates Festival and we made something completely bonkers featuring a bunch of very scared looking Peterborough residents!

War of the Worlds (on a budget) - UK Tour

Our one man comedy musical action adventure (that you didn't know you needed) toured theatres across the country in September and October. From Alnwick to Weymouth and all the bits in between our aliens really did invade England. This tour should have been sponsored by the Gorilla tape company (cardboard props + touring in a Vauxhall Astra + soggy British autumn = lots of gaffa tape).

Suitcase Shakespeare - UK Tour

We packed up our Bard based suitcases for the last time in Spring as we brought our long running, much loved Romeo & Juliet, and Macbeth to their final curtains. Suitcase Shakespeare has always been one of our favourite projects and we hope to revive it in a slightly different, maybe slightly more ambitious form one day!

2022

Alice in Winterland

Our 2022 Christmas tour went down the snowy rabbit hole, as a grown up Alice had to save wonderland from an eternal winter. By defeating a power mad Queen of Hearts, fighting the jabberwocky and unriddling the Mad Hatter’s gibberish our Alice saved the day! With new live original music and a whole host of silly hats, this show toured across East Anglia into theatres, schools and community venues.

War of the Worlds (on a budget)

This one man comedy musical did a quick tour in the summer before a 4 week run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This “hilariously bonkers” show featuring just one man, lots of cardboard, a stunning soundtrack and one slightly annoyed stage manager, received 4 stars from The Stage and won Pick of the Bedford Fringe. It is touring the country in Autumn 2023.

Peter Pan (Westacre Theatre)

We revisited our three person Peter Pan script for Christmas at the Westacre Theatre, but used a cast of 20! Working with a cast of fabulous community actors we brought our mermaids, lost boys, pirates and of course the crocodile back to life in the wilds of Norfolk. With original songs, one multicoloured ribbon curtain and lots of energy, Peter Pan really hit the festive mark!

This Is Peterborough (again)

We revived This Is Peterborough for Peterborough Celebrates Festival. Our 60 minute musical whistle stop tour of city’s history was performed on the big stage at Nene Park 4 times over the weekend. Dinosaurs, x rays, Katherine of Aragon and the Must Farm boats all featured as well as lots of silly songs and crazy costumes!

Switch Festival

Five early career artists created their first ever piece of professional work with us during Switch. The project culminated in a festival featuring It’s Hard to Kill Joan Steele by Yasmin Gibson, We Can’t Keep Going in Circles by Rae Nase, Peppermint Teabags Can Go in the Bath by Kevey Bow and Healdiners by George Lacey and Richard Seaman. Performed at the Key by professional actors, the shows were all conceived, written and developed over the first 6 months of 2022.

2021

Robin Hood

A not so traditional take on the old fable. In this musical comedy version of Robin Hood, Marion is the warrior and Robin is a humble shop boy, who starts a revolution! We toured this exciting two hander around theatres and community venues during the Christmas season 2021.

Before I Go

Rehearsed Reading

This play (without songs....we know, we know) follows the story of a woman who is stuck in a liminal space. She is trying to find her way home with the help of two rather argumentative characters. Before I Go was directed by Sarah Saxby and inspired by people’s responses to the question “what does home mean to you?”.

Suitcase Shakespeare - Summer Tour

Suitcase Shakespeare sees two performers tell the classic tales of Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth in just 45 minutes each, using only what’s in their suitcases! Using some original text, plenty of music and lots of comedy these shows are great for kids and adults of all ages, and are constantly available for bookings. Oh, and we realised, the shows work outside as well as in!

Blockbuster

Our live on-stage action movie parodied every trope in the screenplay, from alien invasions, to presidential interventions with a few dinosaurs thrown in for good measure! Blockbuster also featured a community choir and live BSL interpretation. We worked with over 300 people from the community to make this show!

2020

A Christmas Carol

A one man version of A Christmas Carol performed at Peterborough’s Key Theatre. Based on Dickens’ original classic story, our take on A Christmas Carol was packed full of comedy, original music, puppetry and many, many hats! In total, our single performer played approximately 45 parts in just over one hour!

Live From Our Living Room 1-10

Over 10 weeks we created 10 brand new shows and streamed them, weekly, live from our living room! From War of the Worlds on a Budget, to a silent movie, with Alan In Wonderland and Musical the Musical Musical in between, we appeared on people’s TVs, tablets and phones with our silly, music-filled shows during the first lockdown.

Peterborough Ate My Hamster

This film tells the story of one girl called Norma, who has to defeat an evil hamster catcher and stop the Mayor of Peterborough from banning all the pets in the city. Devised with the help of, and starring, Peterborough residents this film was one of our 2020 projects to keep spirits up during lockdown.

Suitcase Shakespeare

Suitcase Shakespeare sees two performers tell the classic tales of Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth in just 45 minutes each, using only what’s in their suitcases! Using some original text, plenty of music and lots of comedy these shows are great for kids and adults of all ages, and are constantly available for bookings.

2019

The Jungle Book

Young Mowgli has been brought up with the wolves but when Shere Khan comes back to the jungle he needs to get to safety fast. Our three person version of The Jungle Book starred a whole of puppets and featured an 80s rock medley! We toured this show to village halls, schools and small theatres.

The History Boys by Alan Bennett

A community cast production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, performed at The Key Theatre. Keeping the whole cast on stage at all times, and using exciting and innovative movement, we produced a new, gender blind version of this classic play with young performers from Peterborough and the surrounding areas.

Wild Boy

Peter the Wild Boy was found by King George I’s hunting party in the forests of Hanover. Wild Boy told Peter’s story of being brought back to the Georgian court. With hauntingly beautiful music, several dance numbers and a glitter curtain, Wild Boy toured to theatres across Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Norfolk and Hertfordshire.

There Be Giants

Based on new folk tales, written by the residents of Hampton, There Be Giants told the history of Hampton through the eyes of Mavis, the friendly Hampton giant who lives under the Tump. Featuring Great Crested Newts, dragons, and of course, giants, this show had a real party atmosphere. There Be Giants was performed at The Undercroft Weekender.

2018

Beauty and the Beast

Our 2018 touring Christmas show, Beauty and the Beast, was performed by three actor musicians. With a life-size beast puppet, a model village, talking furniture and two accordions and a violin, this exciting, funny show, based on the original story, brought to life Bee’s experience of the Beast and his castle.

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Rest

We were commissioned by the Peterborough Museum to make this epic film about the soldiers who wrote in a guest book in the tea room at Peterborough Station during World War 1. Shot all in one shot, and featuring actual quotes from the soldiers’ messages this film starred local actors and was played at the long running exhibition in the museum.

Peter Pan (Revival)

There have been countless versions of Peter Pan, but ours had German mermaids! Performed by just three performers on a tour to schools, theatres and small village halls, we transformed our set into a den, a pirate ship, a bunk bed and more. Containing plenty of songs, and a lot of laughs this was a feel goodshow for the whole family.

(It was so good the first time, we brought it back!)

This Is Peterborough

The whole history of Peterborough in the space of an hour. No, really. Starting 13.7 billion years ago and ending in 2018, our three performers told Peterborough’s history through song, comedy and poetry, using cardboard props, lots of costume and several puppets. This Is Peterborough was supported by Vivacity, performed in the Bishop’s Palace Garden and was the headline event of the  Peterborough Heritage Festival.

2017

Peter Pan

There have been countless versions of Peter Pan, but ours had German mermaids! Performed by just three performers on a tour to schools, theatres and small village halls, we transformed our set into a den, a pirate ship, a bunk bed and more. Containing plenty of songs, and a lot of laughs this was a feel goodshow for the whole family.

Hampton Folk Tales

Hampton Folk Tales was a six month project to write new folk tales for Hampton. With the help of schools and residents we created a folk tales book and ended the project with the procession of Mavis the giant from the Tump to the Undercroft (on a very rainy day). This project was supported by Eastern Angles and Peterborough Presents.

Meanwhile… A Radio Play Project

Supported by Peterborough Presents we worked with several playwrights from Peterborough and the surrounding areas. Each playwright wrote a 15 minute radio play which was read live on stage by professional performers with a live foley artist and then recorded at Peterborough Regional College.

2016

Treasure Island

Treasure Island was our first Christmas touring show. Performed in the round, with audience on all sides, we transformed village halls and schools into an inn, a boat and an island using only sheets, lamps and voices. Full of hilarious pirates, some musical loop pedal magic and of course, pointy hats, this show was a real knees up m’hearties!

Smoke and Mirrors

Performed at the Green Backyard on Bonfire Night and commissioned by JumpedUp Theatre as part of the first ever Platform 8 festival, Smoke and Mirrors told the story of the Gunpowder Plotters as they hid to avoid the king’s men. The story was told by just two actors using only guitars and hats!

Generation Zero

This was a rare serious play. We took Generation Zero to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016. It was a play about climate change and relationships and underground activist groups. All very sombre stuff. We still really like it, and we were Highly Commended in the Sustainability Awards, but we’ve definitely changed our style since then!

2015

Engine Room

In partnership with Eastern Angles we commissioned and worked with several playwrights to present several evenings of short plays by local writers. Featuring shopworkers in a fitting room, waiting passengers on a station platform and mysterious adventures in the fens these plays spanned a broad spectrum!

Billboard Plays

In partnership with Metal we worked with a group of local playwrights to present plays provoked by pieces of art that were displayed on billboards across the city. These short ten minute pieces were performed by professional performers at the Peterborough Gallery.

Priestgate Vaults

When Peterborough Museum opened their vaults we worked with them to make series of films which projected characters onto the vault walls. Each character talked about their experiences in the museum building based on real life events.

Detective [Insert Name]

This was a super exciting walkabout show around Peterborough. Audiences were given MP3 players (2013….c’mon!) and followed a series of instructions to get to the evil guy and stop him blowing something up. We asked them to wear fake moustaches….it was all the fun!

2013

Peterborough Theatre Uncut

Ah! Back where it all began! Theatre Uncut is a nationwide project where the rights for a series of new plays are released for a month. We worked with local performers, and added some new plays written by local playwrights, and presented an Uncut evening at Metal Peterborough.