Back on the radar

I was appointed Artistic Director of the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch this time last year. It’s my first time in this type of role. I’d had a hankering to run a building after hotfooting it from one freelance gig to another. I didn’t know who I was making theatre for.

I knew people who had worked at the Queen’s Theatre but I had never been. I was struck by its welcoming vibe and how loved it is. The audience looked like my mum… and so that was that. I pitched ideas that the board now describe as maverick and I was given the job.

I’m ensuring that people know its value for the wellbeing of the community. If more cuts come, I want our community to fight for its existence.

Led by the same small artistic team for 17 years, the theatre has been quietly doing its own thing. One might say it had dropped off peoples’ radars. But it’s an extraordinary asset. It produces eight shows a year, has a vibrant youth theatre, a functioning workshop and wardrobe, and a team of over 70 staff. It is the only producing house between Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Mercury Theatre Colchester.

New voices

The first thing I did was open the doors to new voices. These have included co-producing partners for our first ever co-productions, local artists, who have made and presented work and helped shape a new artist development programme, and the branding agency Ave Design, as well as new teams of actors, stage managers, production managers and artists. I wanted to bring in the best and for them to tell us what we do well and what we don’t – to shape the theatre for a resilient future.

I’ve spoken to our existing audience and we’ve widened our reach. Our first relaxed and dementia-friendly performances have widened access. We attracted our most diverse audience yet through co-producing and presenting Rifco’s Laila. My first production, Made in Dagenham, is one of the theatre’s most successful in its recent history.

I’m programming titles that I hope will have a wider appeal. Our subscription offer is at its highest uptake for a while. The building has just been award the UK Theatre Award for Most Welcoming Theatre (East).

Shouting loudly

On the outside I’m shouting loudly about what we do, as you couldn’t tell from the exterior of the building what we did. “Is it a leisure centre?” some people asked. Now the windows are blazoned with colour, words and images. Our new website is warm, chatty and dynamic. We’ve employed a local writer and performer to run our social media, and have seen an increase in followers of 20% in just a few months.

We’ve won funding for outreach projects and are currently touring theatre for people living with dementia to care homes and hospices. We’re in the middle of an intergenerational project – young women interviewing and curating an oral history project with the women involved in the ground-breaking strikes at Ford Dagenham. And we’re about to engage with the ‘looked after’ children of Havering, giving them a platform for their experiences.

I’m ensuring that this theatre is on people’s radar – in Hornchurch, Havering, London, Essex, the UK and internationally. It’s too important an asset to keep secret. I’m going for a snowball effect. I’m ensuring that people know its value for the wellbeing of the community. If more cuts come, I want our community to fight for its existence.

We don’t receive much subsidy, so sharing resources is vital with so much growth. We’re making a primary schools touring show with Redbridge Drama Centre, we’re co-producing four projects with three regional theatres and a commercial touring company.

Much of what I’m doing follows on in the spirit of the former artistic team. It’s far from radical or maverick. Musicals, actor musicianship, a populist programme, local narratives and the community are still at the heart of what the theatre does. But I’ve thrown much up into the air and some stuff has landed brilliantly and other stuff is still freewheeling in the atmosphere.

Wearing more shoes

The Queen’s Theatre was a very tight-knit family – an island almost, serving a specific audience segment. Some staff have moved on and we’re about to start recruiting for a new Executive Director. For some, new faces, new partnerships and new ways of working has been challenging and exhausting. As a seasoned freelancer, I’m used to changing teams every month or so, but I’m aware that more encouragement and support is needed to help our team settle.

When I first arrived, our UKIP councillor board member described the building as her pair of comfy slippers. I want this rare cultural asset to be for everyone – our catchment area is vast and diverse and we straddle boroughs and counties. Outer east London is changing fast, getting younger and more diverse, so the theatre has to be many types of footwear. We’re on our way to achieving this. It’s never good to just wear one pair of shoes.

Douglas Rintoul is Artistic Director at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.
www.queens-theatre.co.uk