Edinburgh Fringe Preview Season

Call For Expressions Of Interest

This summer, Rugby’s Macready Theatre is hosting a scintillating season of Edinburgh Fringe preview performances.

This season will give audiences in Warwickshire the chance to see exciting new shows on their doorstop, and give emerging performers the chance to preview their work in front of friendly and supportive audiences

Macready Theatre is now inviting submissions from companies, performers, comedians and artists who are interested in performing as part of the season.

Submit an expression of interest

If you are interested in performing, we would love to hear from you. We are interested in a broad range of work; new writing, devised work, physical theatre, dance, music, comedy, cabaret, family shows, and more.

Please send some details about your show to Dettie Ellerby: dettie@macreadytheatre.co.uk

Useful Information

• Macready Theatre is a 250-seat venue. A smaller, black box studio space is also available.
• Generally speaking we are looking for shows that would perform once at the venue as part of the season.
• Basic technical support and operation can be provided.
• There is step-free access to the foyer/bar, and an accessible lift to both the stage and auditorium levels.
• Financial deals will generally be offered as box office splits.
• You can find detailed venue information (scale plan, floor plan and rig plan) here >>

Job Vacancy:
Theatre Technician (Full-Time)

We are on the lookout for a full-time Theatre Technician to join the thriving Performing Arts team based in Rugby School’s Macready Theatre.

Vacancy Overview

Job Title: Performing Arts & Theatre Technician
Location: Macready Theatre, Rugby, Warwickshire
Terms: This role is a full-time, term time plus position
Salary: £22,000-£24,000 dependent on experience
Closing date: 28 February 2022

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 an enthusiastic and highly skilled Theatre & Performing Arts Technician, 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 venues across the campus. Regular evening and weekend work will form an important part of the job during certain times in the school year and a flexible approach to working hours will be required.

Additional Information

Rugby School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or age.

We have a comprehensive COVID-19 risk assessment for all on-site working to ensure the health and safety of staff, visitors and pupils.

How To Apply

Please download the full job description here >>

To apply, please visit our recruitment portal here >>

We are thrilled to announce a magical new season of events coming to Rugby’s Macready Theatre in the new year.

Theatre, comedy, magic, adventure, cyberpunk, music, and dinosaurs… this season really does have it all!

So whether you are looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the culture-lover in your life, on the hunt for a fun family day out, or looking to treat yourself to an evening’s entertainment, we’ve got it covered.

Visit our what’s on page to find out what’s in store >>

John Agard honoured with BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award

We are delighted to share the news that John Agard has been awarded the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021.

We are honoured to call John a friend of the Macready Theatre and a supportive patron of our annual Festival On The Close. We congratulate John on this wonderful, much-deserved award.

You can read more about the award here >>

If you want to see John in action, you can join us for An Evening With John Agard later this month where John will be sharing stories, poems and the premiere performance of his brand new one man show.

Find out more about John’s upcoming visit to Rugby here >>

Well done to everyone who joined our half-term workshops!

This week 40 young people aged 8-17 took to our stage for a series of vibrant & creative workshops led by Motionhouse. It was such a delight to see our stage bursting with creativity that we have compiled some of our favourite moments into this blog post to share with you.

A stage is the perfect place to tell a story & we loved seeing new stories being created right before our eyes. Storytelling through dance was totally new to some attendees, but it didn’t slow them down! Interesting narratives were being weaved left right and centre.

Dance and performance exercises help build strong teamwork skills. It was truly impressive to see young people who had never met before working together to collaborate and choregraph exciting dances.

These half-term workshops took participants out of their comfort zones whether that was by trying new steps, getting up on a stage & perform in front of others, or trying their hand at choreography. We loved seeing everyone learning new skills by trying something new!

Creative workshops have an incredible ability to bring people out of their shell. It was wonderful to see all of the participants grow in confidence as the workshops went on.

Finally, a *huge* thank you to Motionhouse’s workshop leaders Aaron and Mitch for making the workshops so much fun! Their encouragement motivated everyone to take the first step and try something different. Who knows where these new creative journeys will end!

Thanks to the generous support of CEMEX UK we were able to offer these sessions to 40 young people free of charge. Well done to all of the participants for throwing themselves into learning something new. We look forward to sharing more opportunities like this soon!

Celebrating National Poetry Day

Thursday 7 October 2021

Did you know that our Macready Theatre is named after the famed Shakespearean actor William Macready? You might have spotted his portrait hanging proudly at the back of our auditorium, keeping a close watch over the comings and goings on his stage.

To celebrate National Poetry Day, we are sharing Farewell, Macready, written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1851. Tennyson was one of William Charles Macready’s closest friends, and he wrote this verse to mark the occasion of Macready’s retirement from the stage.

TO WC MACREADY

Farewell, Macready, since to-night we part:
Full-handed thunders often have confessed
Thy power, well used to move the public breast.
We thank thee with one voice, and from the heart.
Farewell, Macready, since this night we part.
Go take thine honours home; rank with the best;
Garrick, and statelier Kemble, and the rest,
Who made a nation purer through their art.
Thine is it that the drama did not die.
Nor flicker down to brainless pantomime.
And those gilt gauds men-children swarm to see.
Farewell, Macready; moral, grave, sublime,
Our Shakespeare’s bland and universal eye
Dwells pleased, through twice a hundred years on thee.

Happy National Poetry Day! How are you celebrating?

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