Half-term is nearly here, no fear! Macready Theatre to the rescue with three incredible shows for kids in the heart of Rugby.

A huge thank you goes to our friends at CEMEX, who for the past 5 years have shown Macready Theatre generous support that allows the team to create exciting opportunities for young people to be immersed in a theatre show.

Pavilion South West Dance together with Claire Benson presents

Plastic Paradiso

Inspired by Helen Ward’s book ‘The Tin Forest’, Plastic Paradiso is an environmentally themed dance show for children focusing on resilience, friendship and plastic pollution.

“A magical performance on such an important topic”
“Great for kids”
“So engaging and exciting. We all loved it!”

Monday 30th October
11am | 2:30pm

Scarlet Oak Theatre Company presents

Zoo That Comes To You

Featuring puppetry, live music and unforgettable characters, including two animal enthusiasts who end up with a travelling sanctuary. Come and meet this eclectic group of animals as they discuss their life experiences and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world dominated by humans.

“It was so inventive and fun and we learned lots”
“The animals look amazing and it was so heart warming/wrenching in equal measures”
“I cannot recommend this enough for kids and adults! Educational without trying, beautiful loveable characters”

Wednesday 1st November
2:30pm | 5:30pm

Box Tale Soup presents

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Carroll’s Wonderland floods onto the stage in a whirl of strange contraptions and curious characters. Follow Alice on her remarkable journey, from her fleeting encounters with the White Rabbit to her eventual showdown with the crazed Queen of Hearts. Featuring a dozen colourful handmade puppets, a beautiful set that unfolds from a vintage trunk and magical original music, this is a constantly inventive and refreshing take on Carroll’s classic.

“Loaded with charm… ingenious”
“Beautifully accomplished. As wonderful as any wonderland could be”

Friday 3rd November
2:30pm

Keep up to date with what’s on at Macready Theatre via our ticket site.

Vamos Theatre explores ADHD, community and connection in new
wordless production

Vamos Theatre, the UK’s leading mask theatre company has announced dates for its new production, Boy on the Roof, which will tour from Jan-March 2024.
Created through Community Conversations across the UK, gathering people’s personal experiences of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), loneliness, aging, hearing loss, connection and community, Vamos Theatre’s Boy on the Roof has been two years in the making and premieres as one of only eight commissioned companies at Mime London 2024 (1st-4th Feb), before setting off on a six-week tour.

Boy on the Roof is the story of an unlikely friendship between Liam, a teenage boy with ADHD, and his 91-year old neighbour, Albert. Performed without words, it features three of the best physical theatre and mask actors in the UK; Gavin Maxwell, a neurodivergent theatre-maker and movement director whose extensive body of work includes five years as a practitioner for Frantic Assembly; mask specialist James Greaves, whose seminal work with Trestle Theatre has taken him across the world and renowned mask performer Alan Riley, a founder member of Trestle Theatre.

With full face masks especially made for the show by Russell Dean of Strangeface, the production features a full-length score and sound design, innovative film projection and an inventive set. The production is accessible to deaf audiences without BSL interpretation.

Rachael Savage, writer and director of Boy on the Roof, comments, “This has been an incredibly exciting production to work on right from the off, thanks to everyone who helped shape it through telling us of their own experiences in our Community Conversations. We’re grateful to all the many people across the UK who have shared their experiences with us and helped us to understand many of the issues involved. Like all Vamos Theatre productions, the show highlights the importance of making connection, helping us all to better understand our shared humanity, and it seems fitting to announce this exciting new production during ADHD awareness month.
“We’re also lucky enough to be working with three fantastic mask performers who bring a wealth of experience and talent to the stage, and we’ve pushed ourselves much further in exploring ways film, sound and lighting tell stories and create worlds, and I think our audiences will be as excited as I am about how that works. We’re looking forward to getting feedback from our regular and new audiences.”

Arriving to Macready Theatre, Rugby Thursday 15th February 7:30pm
Book now

Macready Theatre have very exciting opportunities as we grow our programme.

The Macready Theatre is a professional 250-seat receiving venue which runs a professional programme alongside Rugby School’s academic and co-curricular Performing Arts activities.

We seek to appoint two enthusiastic and highly skilled Theatre & Performing Arts Technicians, with particular experience in lighting, sound and stage management to commence as soon as possible. The post-holder will be responsible for all aspects of the maintenance and operation of our theatrical equipment in Macready Theatre and venues across the Rugby School campus.

For more information and to apply: Please register and complete an application via Rugby School’s recruitment portal.

Closing date: 13 September 2023

Applications will be considered upon receipt and we reserve the right to make an appointment before the closing date.  Therefore, an early application is strongly advised.

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Macready Theatre is looking for a number of people to work with the Theatre Manager to ensure events run smoothly. These casual roles will include a mixture of bar work (serving drinks, facilitating interval drinks orders) as well as front of house duties (greeting audiences, checking tickets, showing people to their seats). Applicants must be aged 18 or over due to licensing laws.

For more information and to apply: Please register and complete an application via Rugby School’s recruitment portal.

Closing date: 11 September 2023

Applications will be considered upon receipt and we reserve the right to make an appointment before the closing date. Therefore, an early application is strongly advised.

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A Thunder Road Theatre Production

Following a critically acclaimed, sold-out tour in 2022, Thunder Road Theatre are back on tour this Autumn with Shock Horror: their must-see ghost story.

Shock Horror takes audiences on a terrifying journey into childhood nightmares and being afraid of the dark. Described as Stranger Things meets The Woman in Black, this haunting, cutting-edge ghost story is the first of its kind to combine multi-media screen action with live stage performance.

Obsessed with finishing his life’s work, a horror fanatic returns home to a haunted cinema. As his mind unravels, painful memories begin to wake from the dead – but something else waits for him, something much worse.

Shock Horror tours to Macready Theatre, Rugby October 2023! For all ticket information click here.

The cast includes Alex Moran (War Horse, National Theatre; Quality Street UK Tour, Northern Broadsides) as Herbert, Chloe Proctor (Emmerdale, ITV; Doctors, BBC) as Norma, Joseph Carter as Jack (Hollyoaks, Channel Four; Yizkor, New Vic Theatre; 100 Years On, Everyman Theatre) and Chris Blackwood as Karras (Miss Julie, Gulbenkian Arts Centre; The Little
Mermaid, Kings Theatre).

Shock Horror is written by Yorkshire-based playwright and filmmaker, Ryan Simons (Eastenders, BBC; Emmerdale, ITV).

Alex Moran, producer and actor comments, The show has a much bigger team on board after last year’s success. Specialists in lighting, sound, and illusion; and a fantastic new set. It has evolved deliciously… more jumps, more scares, and more stand-out moments. I can’t wait to get started again.

Ryan Simons, writer and director comments, Shock Horror was inspired by a desire to create the next horror classic by bringing together our love of scary films and stage horror. We wanted a ghost show that had broad appeal, something that resonated with both teenagers and adults to entice the next generation into the theatre. We’ve created a unique experience
for a horror show by incorporating a cinema screen within the set design, films are carefully woven into the live action to create a blended performance that makes the play visual, captivating, and terrifying!

Previous Praise for Shock Horror:
★★★★★
Astonishing – Manchester Evening News
★★★★★
One hell of a show – Yorkshire Lifestyle
★★★★
Captivating… a must-see – The Reviews Hub

There is also a school show available for local secondary schools to attend. Please contact Amie info@macreadytheatre.co.uk/01788 556203 for all the information or to book.

Macready Theatre brings you some of the best new talent before it transfers to the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Santi & Naz
Thursday 27 July 2:30pm & 7:30pm

Santi and Naz are bestest-best friends living in a village in pre-partition India. One Sikh, one Muslim; they have little understanding of how religion will divide them. 

Age guidance:
12+
Content Warning:
Violence, religious and political unrest, religious and political violence, Empire & colonisation, forced marriage, murder and sexual assault.
Running Time: 
70 minutes. No interval. 

” Heart-warming, powerful and impactful, Santi & Naz sets the bar high” ⭐⭐⭐⭐ British Theatre.com

“beautifully captures how ordinary people are affected by monumental historic changes which become woven into their everyday experiences” ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reviews Hub 

Tickets available online or on the door £10/£8

Sophie Santos… is Codependent
Sunday 30 July 5pm

After going through a breakup, award-winning comedian Sophie Santos butts heads and belts it out with their personified OCD. ‘Honest and hilariously awkward’ (Shondaland). ‘Comedic dynamo‘ (Time Out New York).

Age Restriction:
14+ Guideline. Strong language  
Running Time:
60 mins

Tickets available online or on the door £12/10

Tim Murray is Witches
Sunday 30 July 7pm

From The Craft to Wicked to the Sanderson Sisters, Murray will have you howling at the moon in a tribute to queer people and how we discover our powers once we find our coven. 

Age Restriction: 
14+ guideline. Strong language
Running Time: 
60 mins no interval

‘Throughout the night it becomes apparent that Tim is a master when it comes to interacting with the audience and it really is one of his strongest elements of the whole show’ Phoenix Remix 

Tickets available online or on the door £12/£10

2nd Portrait of Dorian Gray
Tuesday 01 August 7:30pm

Rugby School Performing Arts and Theatre Studies Students present this piece of new writing before it transfers to Edinburgh Fringe. Nine teenagers and one baritone saxophone invite you to a surreal cabaret of a play.

FREE tickets available online and on the door.

OFFERS:

Book 2x shows, get 50% off!

A Thunder Road Theatre Production 

Performer Alex Moran reveals what makes Shock Horror a “must-see” ghost story this Halloween.

Shock Horror is a theatrical thrill ride that takes audiences on a heart pounding journey into the depths of human psyche. Described as Stranger Things meets The Woman In Black, this haunting, cutting-edge ghost story combines multimedia screen action with live stage performance. And it’s not long before it visits Macready Theatre to terrify the locals brave enough to book. But who is the man behind it all? Alex Moran runs Thunder Road Theatre Company with writer / director Ryan Simons from their base in Yorkshire. To date, they have produced six critically acclaimed, sell-out shows, all exploring the spectacle of horror and the things that keep us from turning the light off at night. We caught up with Alex, who stars in the show, to find out more… 

Alex, hello! Can you start by telling us about your character in Shock Horror?
Herbert has grown up in a cinema that only screens horror. No contact with the outside world whatsoever. No friends, no school. His journey flips between haunting events of his childhood and present day. Any more info and I really would be spoiling it!

What makes Shock Horror unique and should must audiences come to see it? 
It’s the first ever horror show with it’s own self-produced horror film on screen. Set in a haunted cinema auditorium – multimedia not only compliments the show visually; it’s woven into the plot, an unpredictable character in the story.

What are some of your favourite things about performing a horror theatre piece?
I grew up watching The Woman In Black. 14 visits to see the show and it never gets old for me. Performing horror takes me right back to the first time I saw it. Like Herbert I’m a kid again. I can only hope the audiences seeing this share the same sense of excitement and chills I felt back then. 
The atmosphere in horror is totally different to any other theatre experience I’ve ever had. It’s not about the laughs, it’s all about the screams. 

What was your earliest memory of horror? Do you have any spooky childhood memories of your own to share?
Earliest memory was filming a ghost story at Halloween with my family. My grandpa wrote the script and filmed it. Everyone else acted in it. I played an American William Wallace. I still can’t understand why I chose American as an accent for the most famous Scottish hero of all time, but there you go!
Spooky memory? A recurring childhood nightmare of a knock at the door and a jangling of keys. The door flew open. An entity stood in the darkness. I was frozen. I can still see that image now. I’ll leave that story there before I hide behind the sofa.

Theatres are well-known for their ghosts. Have you encountered any spooky goings-on whilst touring? 
Harrogate Theatre is famous for having a theatre ghost called Alice that haunts the stalls. I’ve heard one or two strange sounds in that building, but thankfully nothing more.
I also went method with Herbert and spent the night in a theatre on my own. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Has anything changed from the 2022 tour of Shock Horror?
Massively. The show has a much bigger team on board after last year’s success. Specialists in lighting, sound, illusion and marketing; and a fantastic set designed by the West End’s Justin Williams. The show has evolved deliciously… more jumps, more scares, more stand out moments. I can’t wait to get started again.

We’re creeped out just thinking about it! Thanks Alex. Shock Horror is running at Macready Theatre between 06 October 2023 and 08 October 2023. Book your tickets now, if you dare!