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A Substitute For Life
By Simon Brett
Starring Tim Hardy
14th - 15th September
A dark Victorian thriller by celebrated crime writer Simon Brett.
‘Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life.’ Robert Louis Stevenson’s words have a particular resonance for Francis Kenworthy, a man who has always taken refuge in books to escape from the brutalities of everyday life and of his Victorian upbringing, until forced to face reality. In this taut psychological thriller, a violent outcome is tragically inevitable. Tim Hardy returns to The White Bear Theatre following his critically acclaimed performance as Leo in “The Value of Names” in February this year and his solo show “The Trials of Galileo” in autumn 2024.
‘absolutely spellbinding’ ★★★★1/2 Bouquets & Brickbats
‘a masterclass in the art of character acting’ ★★★★★ broadwaybaby.com
The Charlie Williams story
Written and directed by Chris England
9th - 20th September 2025
In the 1970s the biggest comedy show on television was ITV’s The Comedians. It took bow-tie comics from the Northern club circuit, put them on the screen for the very first time, and made them into overnight sensations. And the breakout star, the one who shone brightest of all, was Charlie Williams.
Charlie was the first black comedian to become a household name. With his toothy grin, his infectious laugh, and his incongruous thick South Yorkshire accent – ‘Tha’s right, love, right accent, wrong colour!’ – he paved the way for many who followed in his footsteps, such as Lenny Henry and Gary Wilmot.
It wasn’t only as an entertainer that Charlie was a pioneer who broke down barriers. He was one of the very few black professional footballers in the 1950s, playing for Doncaster Rovers. He was the only black lad at his school near Barnsley, and the only black lad down the mine when he left.
Perhaps his material would nowadays be considered questionable. But perhaps if you had lived his extraordinary life in a white man’s world – coal miner, footballer, cabaret singer, comedian – you’d have done the same.
Now, however, in retirement, Charlie faces an uncomfortable visit from a mysterious stranger who demands that he justify himself…
By Chris England (An Evening with Gary Lineker, Breakfast With Jonny Wilkinson, Bostock’s Cup)
Starring Tony Marshall (Casualty, Only Fools and Horses, Life on Mars, Death In Paradise)
Visitor played by Nick Denning-Read (Red Dwarf, Victoria, I Came By, Trigger Point)
Eh Up, Me Old Flowers! First appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe and this run at the White Bear is its London première.
Playwright Chris England says: ‘I was particularly drawn to Charlie’s remarkable life story because I too grew up in a mining town, not too far from Doncaster, and the great passions of my life have been football and comedy. So Charlie’s ups and downs always seemed to belong to one of our own.’
REVIEWS
‘Tony Marshall (Casualty) captures the very essence of Charlie Williams – the cheeky grin, pitch perfect comedy timing and of course the famous laugh – in a sharp script that combines classic gags with a wider examination of Williams and his place in the history of stand up comedy.’
British Comedy Guide Recommended
From the Creators of Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, Howerd's End & Jarman
The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton
Written & Performed by Mark Farrelly
Directed by Linda Marlowe
25th - 27th September 2025
"The great problem with life is that you can get from one end of it to the other without ever feeling that another human being ever truly knew you”.
Winner of Best Solo Show (written by the performer) at the London Pub Theatre Awards, October 2023. The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton is a riveting, kinetic solo show which vividly portrays the life of one of the great English writers of the inter-war years. Patrick Hamilton (1904 – 1962) was a dazzling success whilst still in his twenties, producing the hit plays Rope and Gaslight, and classic novels like Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude. But he was also an alcoholic, whose wit became increasingly mordant as his inner and outer worlds collapsed. Set in an electro-therapy clinic in the 1950s, and covering the entire sweep of Hamilton’s turbulent life, The Silence of Snow has gripped audiences wherever it has been performed. An arresting blend of original writing and extracts from Hamilton’s finest works, the play is a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of not confronting one’s own inner chaos. It is also a hugely witty and engaging tribute to a great English writer.
The play is directed by Linda Marlowe, an acting legend for her lengthy collaboration with Steven Berkoff. She is also a hugely-acclaimed solo actress (The World’s Wife, Berkoff’s Women), and a star of EastEnders.
30th September - 4th October 2025
Annie and Harry, two voice actors, meet for the first time at a studio to record erotic audio porn. They want to keep it professional. But can two people with such different viewpoints really come together?
From writer / director Cerys Jones ('The Power of Camelot': Exeter Northcott; 'Cynefin': Bread and Roses Theatre) and following its successful 2024 run, 'The Work We Do' explores our relationship to work, sexuality, and the prejudices surrounding both.
Reviews
'Anticipate twists, turns, comedy, and conflict amidst the extended rumpy-pumpy.'
Reviews Hub
'Feisty conflict, believable characters, and gentle comedy'
London Pub Theatres
'Shipler Chico and Tusker have immense chemistry as the incompatible duo'
Reviews Hub
Parrot Productions
A Rose by Any Other Name?
8th - 11th October 2025
When a young journalist probes the truth behind Shakespeare’s plays, she unleashes a storm—online attacks, academic battles, and a rift with her scholar boyfriend. Blending sharp humour, AI investigation, and heated debate, this provocative new play questions who shapes history—and who gets the credit.
Following a successful 2024 UK Southwest tour and a five-star regional review hailing it as ‘comedic battles of wits, wills, and words’, this provocative new play makes its London Fringe debut at the White Bear Theatre.
Written by Lou Beckett (Bletchley Girls, We Can’t Be), whose work explores hidden histories and untold truths, this production invites audiences to cast a vote on the legitimacy of the authorship debate.
Here's what audiences have had to say:
A wonderful performance. It opened up intriguing questions that I’d not previously thought of.
Fascinating, very enjoyable, makes one’s literary education questionable.
...A great performance leaving one with lots of questions.
Terrific and thought-provoking. Loved the mixture of today’s attitudes and opinions of women of the Shakespeare period. Great acting. Well done.
Rosebuddies Presents
Jason Thurston's Acting MasterClass with Jason Thurston
Sunday 12 October
Join PROFESSIONAL actor Jason Thurston for a lesson in learning the act of acting. Jason's had a fabulous career in short film classics, Death Strikes Us All, F*ckless, and Mothers for Justice, and even in the feature films, Massacre 700 and Little Joe starring Ben Whishaw. Now he wants to impart his wisdom onto you (yes, YOU!), through the medium of trailblazing anecdotes, powerful acting exercises, and some good old-fashioned talking at people. He doesn't need validation, but he would like it, so please join him. Spaces are free to book, and Pay What You Want as you leave, so you could technically end up paying nothing. Jason and his super agent will make it very hard for you to leave without giving something, though. Proceeds from the class will go to Woking Foodbank. There's also a fabulous pub downstairs with drinks that you can bring into the class. Proceeds from the drinks will go to the pub. Special guests also join Jason Thurston. Bonanza.
Synchronicity
Written by: Arthur I. Miller
Directed by Anthony Shrubsall
Back by Popular Demand
14th - 18th October 2025
A new play about Jung by Pulitzer Prize nominee Arthur I. Miller
In 1931 the brash and brilliant physicist Wolfgang Pauli approached the world-renowned analyst Carl Jung for help. Pauli’s neurosis had wreaked such havoc with his psyche that when Jung first saw him, he felt as if the “wind had blown over from the lunatic asylum”. In their discussions they struck sparks off each other and in the end not one but both of them were changed.
Synchronicity is about psychology, physics, alchemy and the extraordinary things that can happen when two brilliant minds meet. Thought provoking, sometimes deep, sometimes moving - it is about how a meeting of the minds can change the world.
Features the original cast.
Arthur I. Miller’s 137: Jung, Pauli, and the Pursuit of a Scientific Obsession is the inspiration for Synchronicity. He is the author of Einstein, Picasso, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; Empire of the Stars, shortlisted for the Aventis Prize; and The Artist in the Machine. www.arthurimiller.com
“Arthur I. Miller is a master at capturing the intersection of creativity and intelligence.” Walter Isaacson
★★★★★
“Synchronicity is an intimate intelligent drama…. The chemistry between Drakes and Riddle was central to the play’s success…”
★★★★
"Heavily reminiscent of Michael Frayn's masterly Copenhagen....The actors are perfectly cast and wholly convincing."
London Theatre
★★★★
"It is heartening to see such intellectual material staged in a fringe theatre…. Director Anthony Shrubsall keeps things moving at pace.”
The Reviews Hub
★★★
"This is above all a play of ideas..."
The Peg
The Beyond Shakespeare Company Presents
Beyond Wyrd Revels 2025
A Week of Devils, Witches, and Horror from Beyond
21st - 25th October
Let the Revels begin! Everyone is invited, even those from beyond the veil. A season devoted to the wyrd worlds of the pre-modern, as Beyond digs into the plays and culture of another time. Before modern Horror, and yet familiar to us as something wyrd and eery.
Live audio recording sessions of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and collaborators, as well as dark tales of witchcraft in The Witch of Edmonton, and comic cunning folk of The Wise Woman of Hogston. Plus the full Horror-before-Horror of Thyestes based on the play by Seneca. Dive into our Wyrd Season and go Beyond!
Tuesday 21st October at 7.30pm
The Witch of Edmonton by Dekker, Ford & Rowley
Edmonton is a place of dark urges and suspicion, where under the surface tensions stir resentment and cruelty. When Mother Sawyer is accused of being a witch, she decides that if you can’t beat them… join them.
Wednesday 22nd October at 7.30pm
The Wise-woman of Hogston by Thomas Heywood
There are two things to know of the wise-woman of Hogston… but most of them are untrue. Our comedy for the season is a city comedy, orbiting a character who everyone thinks is one of the cunning folk – but is really just trying to earn a living.
Thursday 23rd October at 7.30pm
Thyestes by Seneca, translated by Jasper Heywood, includes post-show discussion
The original body horror of Seneca was translated into a best seller in the early years of Elizabeth the First. Dark, intense, and not to be faced after a large meal. Followed by a post-show discussion about the play and its moment.
Friday 24th October at 7.30pm
Doctor Faustus (1604 text) by Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe
Doctor Faustus summons a spirit and makes a deal with the devil – and comes to regret it. This is a live recording of the first version of the play to survive, the shorter A text.
Saturday 25th October at 3pm
Doctor Faustus (1616 text) by Christopher Marlowe and Collaborators
With introduction, and followed by post-show discussion and bonus play reading Faustus to Faustus. End time 8pm approximately.
Doctor Faustus summons a spirit and makes a deal with the devil – and comes to regret it. This is a live recording of the second version of the play to survive, the longer B text, followed by a post-show discussion, and a play about how the text was adapted for the stage.
