In this tightly-wound four-hander thriller written by Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller (In Everglade Studio, Press, Blood Red Apples & Deep Gold Honey), four characters navigate shifting alliances in the middle of the night in a seaside pub.
A newcomer has missed her train. She waits for the next one, the last of the night, in a quiet pub near the station. Before long, a charming regular begins to chat. He soon proposes a deal to her, involving a gun, a hefty payout, and fleeing on the approaching train. As the evening ticks by, the regular and the bartender try to sweeten the deal, the port city’s sadistic sheriff makes an appearance, and as the train whistle gets closer, the newcomer must decide.
Drawing inspiration from the potboiler thrills of Hitchcock and the macabre storytelling of the Coen brothers, Port City Signature marks Black Bat Productions’ return to The Hope Theatre after their acclaimed run of In Everglade Studio.
LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.
UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
The performance lasts approximately 70 minutes without interval.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced.
Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Welcome to Venice. One of the most romantic cities in the world.
Well, unless you’re Sam and Ingrid.
After booking the trip months ago, the couple arrive for their holiday together.
Except they’re not together. They’ve broken up. And they’ve gone anyway…
In and Out of Love follows the unpredictable, beautiful and complicated journey love takes us on, in good times and in bad, for better or worse, till death do us part…
It’s going to be a long weekend.
LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.
UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
The performance lasts approximately 70 minutes without interval.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced.
Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Fresh off the back of a sparkling four-star Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, Is This Thing On? makes its London debut at Hope Theatre this Winter. This new gig theatre infused production follows flatmates Liz and Mary, one a musician and the other a poet, as they battle over integrity, ownership and the spotlight as they come to head over their differences. Seamlessly blending stand-up, song, spoken word, rap, and storytelling, this two-hander dramedy has marked a much-anticipated debut of new multidisciplinary duo, MissMatch.
This “powerful depiction of female friendship” (The Stage) is both written and performed by MissMatch, a thrilling new duo made up of Megan Keaveny (Mab Gwalia Drama Student Scholar 2022 and National Youth Theatre Rep Company 2024/25) and Ellie Campbell (Scottish Youth Theatre National Ensemble 2017). Is This Thing On? is a co-production with So La Flair Theatre who, following their production How To Keep Up With The Kardashians (2022), were celebrated as ‘a company worth watching’ (British Theatre Guide).
★★★★★ Lost In Theatreland
★★★★ Broadway Baby
★★★★ ED Fringe Review
★★★★ Binge Fringe
★★★★ Fringe Biscuit
★★★★ Pick Of The Fringe
LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.
UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
The performance lasts approximately 70 minutes without interval.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced.
Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Courtney knows everyone is winging it.
Wing it with her in this show where YOU are part of its ultimate success (or failure). Where
YOU choose the stories and vote for the one you’d like to see cut leaving Courtney to prepare
a new set for tomorrow.
After a sold out run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Courtney is still on her one-woman
endeavour to escape perfectionism, be truly vulnerable and ultimately find herself and an
agent (It’ll be good, I swear).
A show about not knowing what you should be doing in life – but doing it anyway.
Inspired by the will-they/won’t-they relationships of our time (think Harry and Sally, Ross and Rachel), Shea knows the best way to find love is to pick any random dude, make him your best friend, and pine for each other in secret for years. That’s the dream!… right? But as things begin to fall apart, Shea is forced to confront the real reason she wants to keep men at arms length: maybe it’s the closest she can get to dating them – without actually having to date them.
Playing every single character, Shea invites audiences to help her on her journey (byway of cue cards) to answer the age-old questions: Is Shea just a lesbian? Does she want to f*ck Channing Tatum or just want him to respect her? And when will someone storm out of their big meeting to run to her in the rain and kiss her!? “Will Shea, Won’t Shea?” asks what happens when a queer woman forces her way into a traditional romantic comedy.
Shea Stanley is an american writer, actor and comedian who has written for popular online magazine, Reductress. The show is directed by Amy Allen, an award-winning actor, comedy writer and OFFIE-nominated director.
LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.
UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
The performance lasts approximately 70 minutes without interval.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced.
Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Making your dreams come true…
Welcome to The Dream Machine – Make It Beautiful’s unique, long-form improvisation show, based around audience members’ dreams.This isn’t just a show, it’s an experience of the mind. The Dreamers will build a world full of crazy characters, odd challenges, and heart-warming stories. From one audience member’s dream, comes an entire production.
This hit improv show has had successful runs at many UK theatres, including: the White Bear, the Space, Trestle Arts Base, the Cockpit, the Garage Norwich, the Maltings Theatre St Albans, the OSO Arts Centre and the Golden Goose.
“The Hope are proud to have Make It Beautiful as one of our new associate companies and we can’t wait to see what they get up to each month!” – Laurel & Toby
LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.
UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
The performance lasts approximately 70 minutes without interval.
Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Are you a theatre artist of any discipline who wants to:
Then this is the workshop for you!
This afternoon-long workshop is a crash-course on contemporary theatre-making, what it is and how to do it. Theatre-maker Sam Rees will equip you with the skills and knowledge to get your production on, make a success of it, and, most importantly, pay yourself and others for your work.
Sam will
Sam Rees is a theatre-maker, writer and performer. He is co-Artistic Director of Carmen Collective, a theatre company which has raised nearly a quarter of a million pounds in funding since its inception in 2021. He has created work across the UK, including Camden People’s Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and Norwich Theatre Royal. Most recently, Carmen co-produced and co-created Lessons On Revolution, which sold out its run at Edinburgh Fringe 2024, and received five stars from The Scotsman.
If you have any questions about the workshop ahead of time, don’t hesitate to email samrees96@hotmail.co.uk. You can find Sam on social media @SamRees6 (Twitter) and @samrees9259 (Instagram), and producers Carmen Collective @Carmencollecti (Twitter) and @carmen_collective_theatre (Instagram)
Please arrive in good time for the workshop start time.
Under 18s are not permitted into the theatre for this event.
Refunds and exchanges not available.
“Well, it’s not a party ’til someone’s crying in the toilets.”
Sophie’s sister, Lucy, is at that age where her friends are throwing yoghurt around at school. Sophie’s boyfriend, Tom, runs a catering company for picky wedding planners. And Sophie? Sophie has an eating disorder – which she sees as a rather large inconvenience. Now that she’s in recovery, Sophie is hopeful she can reconnect with Lucy and Tom, but she knows that after hiding within her illness for so long, it’s not going to be easy to cope without it.
Measured is a witty and moving new play examining the hidden consequences of an eating disorder for the sufferer and those who love them. Exposing the emotional turmoil of the illness without glamorising its dangers, Measured questions how effective recovery can be in a society that still wants women to be as ‘little’ as possible.
Emma has worked in mental health social work for over ten years and wrote Measured whilst in recovery from anorexia. Award-winning director Cat was Deputy Director of Jermyn Street Theatre 2019-21. Comedian and mental health ambassador Juliette Burton has sold out Edinburgh Fringe 2015-18 and won numerous awards, most recently recommended by The Guardian for lockdown comedy in 2020.
Performances of Measured on Tuesday 1st and Tuesday 8th March are on-sale at 50% capacity, to allow for additional distancing between audience members.
After each performance of Measured are late-evening shows which together make up Measured Festival. The festival supports charities Rethink Mental Illness and Beat and comprises a roster of electric late-evening preview and work-in-progress shows. Award-winning comedy, improv, spoken word and performance art celebrate mental health awareness and foster a lively and enthusiastic environment in which frank discussions about the difficulties of living with a mental health illness can be had.
Rethink Mental Illness improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through their network of local groups and services, expert information and successful campaigning. Their goal is to make sure everyone severely affected by mental illness has a good quality of life.
For advice and information: https://www.rethink.org
Beat are the UK’s eating disorder charity, their mission is to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders, for both those suffering and those living alongside them.
Latecomers may not be admitted. Please arrive in good time for the start time of 7pm.
Under 18s are not permitted into the theatre for this performance.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced. Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Vix Leyton: I Feel Petty
Discovered by Mark Watson on Twitter, Welsh comic exiled to London Vix Leyton is a natural storyteller with a keen eye for observation, combining warm, whimsical charm with biting wit. A flagrant self promoter, you’ve probably heard of her but you have no idea why.
Her panel show podcast ‘The Comedy Arcade’ is both an audio success and compelling live show, charting as high as 22 for comedy on the Apple Podcast charts, and picking up a nomination for Leicester Comedy’s best podcast last year.
In her show I Feel Petty Vix ponders the blend of factors that have turned her into the self styled ‘Princess of petty’, taking us on a tour of her family history and musing on whether pettiness as a trait is nature, nurture, trauma or a little of all three.
‘She is funny, charismatic, resourceful and likely to achieve great things’
– Mark Watson
‘Fun and irreverent’
– Jen Brister
‘Vix has an undeniable bubbly energy, a natural wit and a real gift for hilarious story telling’
– Sam Rhodes
Rich Wilson
A new stand-up show from award winning comedian Rich Wilson
Rich Wilson, full-time comedian turned painter/decorator, turned t-shirt-printer is back…being a comedian… Fresh from a sell-out show at Soho Theatre, Rich invites you to forget everything that has happened over the past two years and enjoy a whimsical hour of the sharply observed and painfully honest tales that have won him Best International Guest at the 2016 New Zealand Comedy Awards and sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. Rich campaigns for better understanding of mental health, particularly in men and is the host of award-winning podcast Insane in the Men Brain.
This event is part of Measured Festival. All profits made by Forward Thought Theatre will go to charities Rethink Mental Illness and Beat. The festival comprises a roster of electric late-night preview and work-in-progress shows, presented after each performance of Emma O’Brien’s witty and moving new play Measured. Award-winning comedy, improv, spoken word and performance art celebrate mental health awareness and foster a lively and enthusiastic environment in which frank discussions about the difficulties of living with a mental health illness can be had.
Rethink Mental Illness improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through their network of local groups and services, expert information and successful campaigning. Their goal is to make sure everyone severely affected by mental illness has a good quality of life.
For advice and information: https://www.rethink.org
Beat are the UK’s eating disorder charity, their mission is to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders, for both those suffering and those living alongside them.
For advice and information: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk
Latecomers may not be admitted. Please arrive in good time for the start time of 9pm.
Under 18s are not permitted into the theatre for this performance.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced. Refunds and exchanges are not available.
Meet Mico. Mico has just lost James, the love of his life, and should really begin grieving. Instead he punches a hole in the universe and travels between parallel worlds to try and get his dead husband back. Join Mico, James and a million other Jameses as they bring you on the wildest ride of your life…in this world at least…
Writer/performer Alan Flanagan (Hollyoaks, Eyes Teeth Soil – Pleasance), performer Brendan O’ Rourke (Game Of Thrones, Incident At Vichy – Finborough Theatre) and director Dan Hutton (Big Guns – Yard Theatre, Associate Director at Barrel Organ) bring a story of love, grief, and trying to find decent sausage rolls in a universe that never invented Gregg’s.
‘Alan Flanagan’s story-telling is rich, strange and brutal’
– The Reviews Hub, on Eyes Teeth Soil
‘It’s hard not to smile when this odyssey comes to its defiant, rocket-fuelled conclusion’
– The Stage, on Bingo
‘Please, please, please go see Bingo.’
– A Younger Theatre
‘O’Rourke is an absolute genius and performs Joseph K, and indeed the other characters superbly.’
– Everything Theatre, on The Trial
This event is part of Measured Festival. All profits made by Forward Thought Theatre will go to charities Rethink Mental Illness and Beat. The festival comprises a roster of electric late-night preview and work-in-progress shows, presented after each performance of Emma O’Brien’s witty and moving new play Measured. Award-winning comedy, improv, spoken word and performance art celebrate mental health awareness and foster a lively and enthusiastic environment in which frank discussions about the difficulties of living with a mental health illness can be had.
Rethink Mental Illness improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through their network of local groups and services, expert information and successful campaigning. Their goal is to make sure everyone severely affected by mental illness has a good quality of life.
For advice and information: https://www.rethink.org
Beat are the UK’s eating disorder charity, their mission is to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders, for both those suffering and those living alongside them.
Latecomers may not be admitted. Please arrive in good time for the start time of 9pm.
Under 18s are not permitted into the theatre for this performance.
No re-admittance once the performance has commenced. Refunds and exchanges are not available.