Off The Page is a relaxed night of play readings designed to bring you diverse new writing read by local, professional actors. From established to emerging writers, we have some amazing talent in our community. Every other month you’ll be able to hear brand new work with an opportunity to give the writers your feedback.This month, we present The Curiosities by Laura SilvaMary Anning. Lyme Regis. 1810.A working-class girl learns to read the cliffs from her father. When he dies, she keeps going — and changes science forever.Laura Silva is a playwright based in the south-west. A historian by background, she now works in the charity sector. The Photograph, her one-act play, won the One Act Festival in Kingston.The Curiosities, is her first full-length children's play.Although this event is pay what you decide, we have added a £2 minimum price - this can be altered when purchasing your tickets or can be added to on the night.

For the first time ever, writer / performer Mark Farrelly brings all three of his highly-acclaimed portraits of major creative figures together in a special rep season for the Bridge House Theatre. Book for two shows in the season and get £5 off, book for all 3 and get £10 off!Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope10 & 13 NovFrom a conventional upbringing to global notoriety via The Naked Civil Servant, Quentin Crisp was one of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century. Openly gay as early as the 1930s, Quentin spent decades being beaten up on London’s streets for his refusal to be anything less than himself. His courage, and the philosophy that evolved from those experiences, inspire to the present day.Naked Hope depicts Quentin at two phases of his extraordinary life: alone in his Chelsea flat in the 1960s, certain that life has passed him by, and thirty years later, giving a performance of his one man show An Evening with Quentin Crisp in New York. Packed with witty gems on everything from cleaning (“Don’t bother – after the first four years the dust won’t get any worse”) to marriage (“Is there life after marriage? The answer is no”), Naked Hope is a glorious, uplifting celebration of the urgent necessity to be your true self.Jarman11 & 14 NovA mighty spirit is about to reawaken. Yours.Derek Jarman: film-maker, painter, gardener at Prospect Cottage, activist, writer...his influence remains as strong as it was on the day AIDS killed him in 1994. But his story, one of the most extraordinary lives ever lived, has never been told. Until now.This vibrant new solo play written and performed by Mark Farrelly (Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, Howerd's End) brings Derek back into being for a passionate, daring reminder of the courage it takes to truly live while you're alive. A journey from Dungeness to deepest, brightest Soho and into the heart of one of our most iconoclastic artists.The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton12 NovPatrick Hamilton was a dazzling success in his twenties, producing hit plays Rope (filmed by Hitchcock) and Gaslight, and classic novels Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude. But Hamilton was also an alcoholic, whose wit darkened as his inner and outer worlds collapsed. Covering the entire sweep of Hamilton’s thrilling life and writing, The Silence of Snow entertains and challenges, asking: why do so many of us get through life without feeling we ever truly knew another person? 

A dancer in a banker’s suit. A “good Indian boy” gone spectacularly off-script. Bad Indian is a darkly funny solo show by Saaj Raja exploring identity, masculinity, family pressure and belonging through the British South Asian experience. Blending storytelling, movement and humour, it asks: what happens when you stop being who everyone expects and start being who you are?

'It's a vulnerable package. That's why we're here. Eyes-on, two-to-one, double supervised. We keep the protocols, the procedures; we keep the conditions of the order. There is a system. We are the system.'Leyla is sixteen. She likes maths, Teign with the green eyes, and absconding from her children's home. One night to keep her out of harm's way, Leyla is taken and moved to an unknown room, in an unknown house, in a far-away part of the city. Leyla's angry. She's frightened. But she's not alone. Ever. Created with The Big House members, judges, and legal experts, A DoL House is an unflinching, provocative play that steps inside a hidden system to ask: What does 'keeping young people safe' really mean? When does protection become control? And is there another way?

England. A remote country house. A young governess, hired to care for two children, begins what appears to be an idyllic new life – but something about the children hints at a darker presence. Desperate to protect them from what she believes to be malevolent spirits, she finds herself descending into a world of ambiguity, leading to one far-reaching question: are the ghosts real… or are they a projection of something far more terrifying? A masterwork of psychological suspense and the inspiration for Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, Henry James’ classic novella The Turn of the Screw is brought to life in this brand-new stage adaptation by Olivier Award-winning playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia; The Wasp).

Adapted for the stage by Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey (Orbital) from the beloved novel by Barbara Pym, this is a wry and poignant ode to ageing, friendship and the strange poetry of everyday life. In 1970s London, four co-workers approach retirement, each quietly marking time. As the seasons turn, they go about their daily rituals and routines. Marcia (Pooky Quesnel, The A Word) hoards tinned food and drifts into solitude. Letty (Kate Duchêne, The Worst Witch) dreams of something more. Edwin (Anthony Calf, New Tricks), a widower, finds refuge in the church. Norman (Paul Rider, Don’t Destroy Me) rails against modern life. Together, they form a quartet – a fragile compact to get through the days. Marking the first ever stage adaptation of Barbara Pym’s Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, this is a world premiere directed by Dominic Dromgoole, former artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe and the Bush Theatre. Quartet in Autumn unfolds as a sharp, witty and keenly observed portrait of loneliness in a changing world, of the courage it takes to keep going, and the grace that can be found in the ordinary.

Smiling is not my ‘girl-duty,’ a**hole! Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy winner Christine Lahti brings her acclaimed new play The Smile of Her to London for a strictly limited run at the Marylebone Theatre. Funny, furious and achingly personal, this extraordinary autobiographical work traces a woman’s journey from 1950s suburban America to the heart of a changing world — confronting family mythology, misogyny, ambition, motherhood and the cost of being “a good girl.” Performed by Lahti herself in a tour-de-force role, The Smile of Her is a bold, deeply human exploration of the stories we inherit, the voices we silence and the fight to reclaim ourselves. ‍

Dash Arts in association with Leeds Playhouse presents Our Public House A big hearted and funny new play With Kit Esuruoso (Tina The Musical), Chaya Gupta (EastEnders), Gabriella Leon (Casualty), Lauren Moakes (Romeo and Juliet), Fergus O Donnell (DowntownAbbey, Holby City) and Bharti Patel (Doctors, EastEnders). When an entire community spoils their ballots and refuses to vote, a local pub on the brink of closure becomes the only place left to talk. As a storm rages outside, landlady Sanjana, a family in mourning, familiar regulars and unexpected guests are thrown together fora night of debate, confession and open mic. In a town divided by politics, secrets spill. Songs rise. People fall in love. Something shifts.Inspired by the real words of over 600 people nationwide, Our Public House transforms the state of the nation into a play with original live music, about community, connection and what might change if everyone had their say. Where drama and voices like yours take centre stage. At every show, a local community ensemble will be part of the action on stage, performing alongside the cast and highlighting the issues they feel are most important locally–no two performances will be the same! From award-winning playwright Barney Norris (“a writer of grace and luminosity”-The Stage) and director Josephine Burton(“immersive ingenuity”-The Observer). Told through spoken English, British Sign Language (BSL), Sign Supported English(SSE), creative captioning and music, Our Public House brings together a cast of hearing and deaf performers All performances are captioned. One performance will be BSL-interpreted (2 July 7:30pm)

Back by roaring demand, the international smash hit Dinosaur World Live returns to London this summer! Don’t miss this award-winning interactive adventure for all the family – featuring the biggest and best dinosaur puppets live on stage! Step into a prehistoric world of astonishing (and remarkably life-like) creatures. Meet an incredible line-up of dinosaurs, including every child's favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, alongside a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus! A special meet and greet after the show offers all our brave explorers the chance to make a new dinosaur friend. Packed with fun, dino-mite discoveries, this mind-expanding Jurassic adventure is not to be missed. Book now before tickets become extinct!

One night, two lives and a past that refuses to leave. Tom is travelling in Berlin with no hostel and no plan. When Charlotte, a native Berliner working in a bar, offers him the use of her couch, he can't believe his luck. Intoxicated by one another, they want to lose themselves to desire. But as night becomes morning, secrets emerge that cannot be ignored. Joanna Murray-Smith’s gripping, contemporary thriller makes it UK debut following an acclaimed Australian premiere and asks is it better to remember or to forget?

If your ex wanted to meet up again, would you? Previously engaged, Jada and Dallas reunite for dinner to hash out the good, the bad, and the ugly from their romantic past. Despite the intrusion of sassy waiters, complicated memories, and their best efforts to keep things casual, the estranged couple find themselves cornered by the truth. Book by by Douglas Lyons Directed by Zhailon Levingston

Without us here, though, can you imagine how much worse it would be? It’s 2024. After years circling the globe delivering aid, Jo has built a career supporting those most in need – a good person doing good things. But 75 years after her grandfather got the idea of “international development” into President Truman’s inaugural speech, global inequality is worse than ever. Eight billionaires now hold the same wealth as the poorest half of humanity. And when Jo meets an activist who is fighting with her life for her nation’s future, she can’t shake the feeling that the system she passionately believes in might be part of the problem. Spanning continents and decades, A Fine Idea travels from post-war idealism to today’s overlapping crises, unpicking the history of aid, power and good intentions. And confronting the question at the heart of it all: Do we really want to change things – or do we just like the idea of helping? A Fine Idea is a response to the bestselling book The Divide by Jason Hickel.