WHAT'S ON at THE HEN AND CHICKENS THEATRE

TOP PICK

Corona Daze

17th – 25th April 7.30pm £15/10 and 19 - 25 May

It is March 2020 and the public is demanding action against the coronavirus. Nicky Parsons is one of them.

At the start, she’s got the lockdown nailed. But before long, life descends into chaos as Nicky loses control.

Corona Daze is a humorous portrait of a woman on a housebound journey of enlightened self-discovery.

Expatriated

28th April 3pm £10

Why are some people “expats” while others are “immigrants”? An LA lawyer finds herself in the vibrant city of Hong Kong, while on the other side of the world a Hong Kong lawyer faces the crushing reality of starting a new life in LA. In a single act, this new play candidly explores the dichotomy of experiences faced by two young women who leave home seeking new horizons, and the uncertainty, privilege and injustice they face along the way. It’s a poignant look at the world of migration and the paradoxes of the expatriate experience that will challenge you to reconsider your own perceptions of what it means to be an immigrant.

The Moral Women

7th & 8th May 7.30pm £12.50

The year is 2027 and the United Kingdom has regressed in a multitude of ways. Healthcare demands extortionate fees, particularly the cost of having a child. The opportunists who are in charge of the collapsed economy found child birth to be the most efficient way to extract money from citizens. Meaning women’s reproductive rights in the United Kingdom were jeopardised; abolishing all choices that opposed the new regime. To quietly reject this system, many clinics were illegally developed and privately funded; becoming a safe haven for women to make their own choices over their bodies. The Moral Women is set in the lead up to a raid at Feminam Clinic. Here we observe 5 patients and a receptionist, as they enter the clinic to share their stories and connections to one another, before encountering a potentially fatal end.

EGGS by Florence Keith-Roach

9th, 10th & 11th May 7.30pm £14.50

A dark comedy about female friendship, fertility and freaking out.

An unlikely friendship between two opposites, two women bond over their quick wit, love of nineties’ dance music and a mounting alienation. Florence Keith-Roach’s play Eggs was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2015), and was selected for the 2016 VAULT Festival and has now come to The Hen and Chickens Theatre 2024 and is presented by Any Second Now.

Jump

14th & 15th May 7.30pm £16.50

The canal draws people to it… One night, as Rob contemplates his life and the lure of the water, a handsome young man engages him in conversation. So begins a strange and fractious relationship that might just prove beneficial to them both. This queer dark comedy, directed by Scott Le Crass, makes its London debut.

Yes, We’re Related WIP

16th, 17th & 18th May 7.30pm £13.50

Sara is living in denial. After losing her mother, Sara is dealing with ravenous rodents and redundancy and her life is on the brink of collapse. Cue her estranged older sister, Saskia – the golden child. Trifle in hand, Saskia and her quirky fiancée Mark surprise Sara on the anniversary of their mother’s death. But there is a secret which takes these two sisters from bad, to worse, to absolutely catastrophic!

Florence Lace-Evans’ nutty new comedy, Yes, We’re Related takes sibling grief and chaos hand in hand. Get ready to laugh, cry and oh… eat trifle!

The Screen Test

27th May, 18th June & 11th July 7.30pm £10

“The Screen Test” written and performed by Bebe Cave. A one-woman-show about delusion, desperation and dreams. A dark comedy.

Betsy Bitterly is an aspiring actress in 1930s Hollywood. A coming-of-age tale about a girl who is desperate to become a star, even if she sacrifices herself along the way. Through a series of ‘screen tests’ for film roles that could change her life, Betsy herself changes in ways she never expected. She falls in love, makes friends and foes, and loses track of her moral compass in her never ending quest to ‘make it’. But what does ‘making it’ really mean? And when do you let go of the dream?

Bebe Cave is an actress, comedian and podcaster. She has performed at the fringe with her sister Jessie Cave in their debut show “Bookworm” at underbelly in 2012, and most recently “Cave-Women” at Just the Tonic in 2019.

So Help Me Dog

28th May – 1st June, 4th – 8th June, 11th – 15th June 7.30pm £10/6.50

A2B2C.I.D – SO HELP ME DOG
DANNY FRANKS was born into a tough crime family. Diagnosed ADHD aged 3, dyslexic, he left school aged 14 with no formal qualifications.
Facing trial for possession of 6 million pounds worth of contemporary art. A collection the upper echelons of society, says he, has no right to have.
Written by critically acclaimed DEAN STALHAM. Directed by LIL WARREN. The audience get the chance to be immersed in a revealing, tough, at times humorous courtroom drama. A surreal trip to say the least.

TOP PICK

BookTalkBookTalkBook Plus Works-in-Progress: Joanna Neary & Ben Moor

9th June 2pm £10

ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEE THE SELL-OUT BOOK EVENT PARODY

(AND SOME WORKS-IN-PROGRESS) – BOOK EARLY THIS SHOW WILL SELL OUT!

I have seen this and it is brilliant. . .

It’s as if Jorge Luis Borges has written a parody of book festival events, a Russian Doll of a show that kaleidoscopes psychedelically into itself and then evaporates.

STEWART LEE

Authors Jenny Nibbingley and Burton Mastrick truly need no introduction.

Their novels have long been secretly well-regarded by those in the know, but rarely bought or read by the general public.

Today’s event promises to be an enlightening discussion of such titles as Why Reigate?, Randoms, Hatred of Broccoli, and Only If I Have To.

Tim Timminey will moderate.

Book signing afterwards.

Well, that’s the plan anyway.

But when do things go to plan?

BookTalkBookTalkBook combines an absurdist parody of awkward live author events; an exploration of artificial intelligence and the creative process; a Beckettian live theatre experience, and an experiment in the limits of patience regarding card tricks. With jokes.

Funny and wise, imaginative and original; this is a show you can’t put down.

Sorry, that was more of an observation than a question.

BookTalkBookTalkBook was a 100% Sell Out at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe, and every time it’s been on here at the Hen & Chickens.

Bonus! 

After a short interval, Joanna and Ben will be sharing short Work-in-Progress previews of their forthcoming new shows.



Pull My Goldfinger

16th & 17th June 7.30pm £11.50

Bond is dead. Craig’s out. To revive the world’s most famous spy we must return to the very beginning. But who is brave enough? Who has the courage to bring Bond back? Who has the power to make him even better?

Known for his ethnically ambiguous bone structure and dynamic physicality, Carlos Sandin is bringing a Bond that obliterates all others. A new undercover hero we never knew we needed. Forget Connery, Moore and Brosnan, Sandin is here to take the world on the most epic journey 007 has ever ventured: rebirth.

Expect action, drama and live music; a fresh take on a modern classic.

A graduate of SpyMonkey’s Clown Creation School (Brighton), a Sweetie of Sweet Action Theatre (Toronto) and a child of the Cold War, Carlos Sandin brings his unique charm and vigour to this debut solo clown show.

Jessica Durand: Over the Top

20th June £7.30pm £8.50

War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing… . apart from really good fan fiction.
Jessica Durand is a chronically online child of the 2000s who wants to take you on a tour of her strangest, most erratic, and all-consuming hyper-fixation yet: World War 1 Downton Abbey fan fiction. 

“An Intervention” by Mike Bartlett

25th – 29th June 7.30pm (Saturday matinee 3pm) £19.50

London Repertory Players are delighted to be at the Hen and Chickens Theatre for one week only from 25th June 2024 with An Intervention by Mike Bartlett, a touchingly funny play about what happens when you hate your best friend, and how you can negotiate stumbling blocks in the relationship.

The show stars Jessica Olim (LRP productions of Abigail’s Party; I Have Been Here Before) and Jamie Woolf, recently in After Life at John Lyon’s Theatre, Covent Garden. Directed by Vernon Thompson whose production of The Wily Widow at the H and C in 2017 transferred in 2019 to Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan.