Genfest Brochure 2025 by RoyalDerngate

UK’S MOST WELCOMING THEATRE 2025

GENFEST 2025

GENFEST IS BACK!

This year we gather once again to celebrate the incredible creativity within our artistic community.

Over seven days you’ll see stories unfold, voices amplified, and ideas brought to life across our stages and rehearsal rooms. GenFest 2025 is about connection between artists, audiences, and the town we call home. Whether you’re here to support a friend, discover new work, or simply soak up the atmosphere, we’re delighted to welcome you into the heart of Northampton’s creative scene.

GenFest is part of Royal & Derngate’s commitment to supporting artists via our Generate Artist Development Programme.

WHATS ON

P04 - Writing Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely Writers Retreat

P06 - GenFest Launch Event

P07 - Student Take Over

P08 - The Investigations

P09 - In Good Company Advice Surgeries

P10 - Disparate Harmony by Jo Meredith & William South

P12 - Lovett by BoonDog Theatre

P14 - MotherHood by Claire Nelson

P16 - Sniff The Flowers by Lou Chawner

P18 - Red Rosa by no more superheroes.

P23 - BIOSPHERE by Part Of The Main

P24 - Writing For Musical Theatre With Darren Clark

P26 - Musical Theatre Network – Future Producers of Musicals in the Midlands networking event

P28 - Dorothy & Her Very Many Friends by Jude Taylor

P30 - Future Workshops

Festival Ticket Offers

Make the most of GenFest with our special ticket packages:

Festival Pass – Students

See all 8 performances for just £35 (available to students only).

Festival Pass – General

Experience all 8 performances for only £85.

Writing Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely – Workshop Deal

Book all 5 workshops in this strand for just £20.

Full Festival Package

Enjoy the complete GenFest experience for £110, which includes:

• Tickets to all shows and workshops

• A printed festival programme

• A complimentary drink at the Sunday launch event

• Discount is applied when tickets are purchased in a single transaction.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

WRITING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LONELY

GenFest Writers Residency

Sunday 16 November, 10am–5pm £5 per workshop / £20 for all

Location: Underground Studio, Royal Theatre, Rehearsal Room, Foyer, Underground 4

As part of the Royal & Derngate’s GenFest celebration week of new work, WDHTBL will be running a series of workshops with a focus on NEW writing. Artist and founder of WDHTBL Dan McGarry and others will lead a series of workshops and talks that challenge you to look at your writing in a new way, just bring your ideas, questions and an open mind. We can’t wait to see you there!

z 10am-11am Writing 101 Join for hints, tips and starting points suitable for writers of all ages.

z 11.15am-12.15pm Join us in conversation with writer Sara Bodinar who will discuss their process, ideas for you to develop your work and industry connections and set a few writing tasks

z 1.30pm-2.30pm Writing with Less Words. This practical workshop provides exercises to support those with some experience. Giving skills and insight into editing your work, creating worlds without over explaining.

z 2.45pm-4pm World Building & Character Development. For those looking for specific knowledge on how to create the world of their play and ensure their characters are part of it.

z 4.15pm-5pm In Conversation with Jesse Jones. Join Dan McGarry and Royal & Derngate Artistic Director Jesse Jones as they discuss developing plays, how to work with a director, commissioning process, successful adaptations and how Jesse’s career is embedded deeply in devising processes.

z 5pm -5.30pm Launch of GenFest – Your ticket includes a celebratory drink as we kick of the festival.

Writing Doesn’t Have to be Lonely is run by Dan McGarry and Caroline Nash. established in February 2018 with the aim of allowing writers to hear their work performed aloud at an early stage. Whether this was something they had written that week or had been gathering dust in a drawer for a year or more, we wanted to build a platform for writers to hear their work performed by actors. The objective is to give the writer a better idea on how they might develop their piece moving forwards. Over the past 7 years we have heard hundreds of scripts from dozens of writers. Several have gone onto further collaboration, and some of these have gone onto professional productions, including 2 national tours. We are supported by Arts Council England and are currently commissions short pieces and developing several of these alongside Corby Cube. Contact: writingdhtbl@gmail.com

To book one of these sessions go to royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/genfest-2025-writing-doesnt-have-to-belonely

Caroline trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. Caroline performed as Joan Sims in ‘Funny Faces’ by local writer Steve Dimmer and most recently played the role of Helen in Shelagh Delaney’s ‘ A Taste Of Honey’. Having been a member of the Northampton-based ‘Writing Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely’ group, since the first gathering in 2018, she is excited to be able to continue to support local writers in the future.

Dan McGarry is a writer, actor and director with over 20 years of experience in Theatre and over 100 professional credits. He worked mainly as an actor before moving to Northampton in 2015 when his focus widened to include writing and directing. Dan is also a guest lecturer at The University and Northampton. In addition, he works extensively as a dramaturg and in 2018, set up Writing Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely, a monthly happening which has supported dozens of writers with hundreds of scripts over the last 7 years.

GENFEST LAUNCH EVENT

Join Artistic Director Jesse Jones as we launch GenFest 2025

Royal Theatre - 5pm-6pm CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

GenFest 2025 is our 7th Artist Development festival supporting the work of freelance artists, practitioners and Associate artists.

Join Artistic Director Jesse Jones as he introduces you to the festival, discussing the programming highlights, his role at the organisation and offers opportunities for artists to mingle and chat. We welcome and launch the festival and kick off a brilliant week focussing on all things artist development.

Your booking includes a complimentary drink on arrival and an opportunity to network with participating artists and those attending.

We look forward to kicking off the festival and meeting you all!

©www.stephengodfrey.co.uk - @photogath

GENFEST STUDENT TAKE OVER

Four new 30-minute plays

Monday 17th November

Royal Theatre - 7pm

£15

Four new 30-minute plays from the final year students on the University of Northampton’s BA Acting Programme.

Each group have just 2 weeks to write, rehearse and produce a 30-minute play suitable for a festival setting. As well as writing and taking the on-stage roles, they also design the lights, sound, costume and self-direct each piece.

THE INVESTIGATIONS

Workshop and Performance

Tuesday 18th November

Underground - 10.00 - 3.30pm

Workshop £5

Performance - Free 4-5pm

The Investigations is a performance-making game from Voyager 3, supported by In Good Company. Exploring the details of everyday life, this is a ‘make a show in a day’ devising workshop, presented as a game in a box, in which the participants are the researchers, writers, performers and spectators.

Made by Alex Kelly and Bethany Wells, The Investigations sits between participatory theatre and the recent growth of narrative based role-playing games, or Story Games, in which the players take joint authorship of the narrative explored in the game.

Imagined for theatre companies, drama students and any group interested in devising theatre, The Investigations is a DIY devising workshop in which participants carry out research tasks, and together create a performance format for them to share their findings. How you play the game means it can produce a fully written and rehearsed, or semi-improvised performance – for an external audience.

Twenty copies of The Investigations are currently being play-tested around the world.

“It felt fun, accessible, egalitarian, and clear…. for participants with no experience in devising or performing, it takes the pressure off knowing what you want to make work about, the idea of ‘making work’ in the first place, and removes the notion that they have to come equipped with any prior knowledge and experience. […] For those with more experience, we felt this might act as a way to rejuvenate creative practice, step away from habits or fixed themes and ways of developing content.”

ADVICE SURGERIES

With In Good Company

Tuesday 18th November

Lolas - 11am - 11.30am, 11.45am - 12.15pm, 12.30pm - 1pm, 2pm - 2.30pm, 2.45pm - 3.15pm, 3.30pm - 4pm FREE CLICK

Join Jen Sullivan, Creative Producer for In Good Company for a one to one advice surgery at Royal & Derngate.

Artist surgeries, are an excellent way to gain bespoke insight and support on various aspects of your work. These surgeries are typically recommended for general consultations about developing new work, or for producers seeking advice on specific projects or career pathways.

Time slots are one hour and booking is essential. We recommend that once booked you email through a few details about yourself and any questions that you may wish Jen to support you with to, getinvolved@royalandderngate.co.uk

DISPARATE HARMONY

Joyful, free and soulful

Tuesday 18th November

Location Foyer

A joyful, free and soulful combination of live music and dance that reminds us that we have more in common than that which divides us, encouraging spectators to understand themselves and others in a new way through movement and sound.

William South: A musician and composer for many years over many musical areas. William has enjoyed global success with projects Heavy Shift, Philephelphia Bluntz and The South Trio. He composed much music tv/media music and co-composer on Punchdrunk’s London show The Drowned Man. He currently works in the contemporary and ballet world as well as producing and mentoring other artists.

Jo Meredith: Jo Meredith is an international movement director and choreographer based in Northampton. For Youth Music Theatre UK she directed and choreographed More in Common a musical inspired by the life and work of murdered MP Jo Cox. She has directed two baroque scenes performances for Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is associate lecturer at London Contemporary Dance School and London Studio Centre and Creative Director of National Youth Ballet and English National Ballet’s ENB Youth Co-nnect.

Movement Direction credits include: Medea, The Metropolitan Opera House, Canadian Opera Company and Greek National Opera, Director David McVicar, La Boheme, Copenhagen Opera Festival, Director Amy Lane, I Masnadieri and La Calisto, Teatro Alla Scala, Milan, Director David McVicar, Drot Og Marsk, Royal Danish Opera, director Amy Lane and Kasper Holten, Tosca, Icelandic Opera, director Greg Eldridge. Rigoletto Savonlinna Opera, director David McVicar. Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, Alte Munze, Berlin, director Julia Burbach.

Her choreography has been performed at venues including: The Place Theatre, Sadlers Wells, The Arcola and Wilton’s Music Hall

LOVETT

Where was god, when Mrs Lovett needed him?

Tuesday 18th Nov

Royal Theatre - 7.30pm

£15

Newly-widowed Mrs Lovett needs to find a way to survive. Using skills learned from a whaler father, a courtesan mother and a butcher husband, Eleanor “recalibrates” her life - and her relationship with God. An origin story set before her infamous partnership with Sweeney Todd, we discover what would later lead her to turn pie-maker. You may think you already know Mrs. Lovett, but this new play explores what made her: the brutal choices and disappointments of a life in poverty. When the difference is life or death, morality becomes a moveable feast - and Eleanor is getting hungry...

BoonDog Theatre is a multi award-winning collaborative theatre company based in the Midlands, creating exciting new stories for the stage. A core team of Creative Director Lucy Roslyn and Productions Director Jamie Firth focus on making intimate, character driven pieces working with a team of collaborators from various disciplines to bring them to the stage, telling stories that start conversations that last long beyond the audience leaving the theatre. Their work is almost always darkly comic, always aims for the heart, and what they describe as “covertly political”. Their work is led with a passion for detailed research when it comes to historical or psychological elements. BoonDog Theatre are proud to be Generate Associate Artists of Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

“GENUINELY TENDER AND TOUCHING” - The Stage

“COMPLETELY CAPTIVATING FROM START TO FINISH” - Theatre Weekly “ULTIMATELY WE HAVE A SELF-PENNED ACTING MASTERCLASS HERE WHICH IS “GRIPPING AND UNDERSTATED AT THE SAME TIME” - London Theatre 1

H H H H H ONE OF THE MOST RELENTLESS, COMPELLING PIECES OF WORK AT THE FRINGE - Broadway Baby

H H H H H AN ENTIRELY DISARMING PERFORMANCE, PRECISE, COMMITTED, AND UNFLINCHING - Binge Fringe

H H H H H IT’S A MASTERFUL PIECE… …A FEAST FOR FANS OF COMPELLING SOLO PERFORMANCE - Edinburgh Guide

H H H H H RIVETING AND INTENSELY DRAMATIC… COMPLEX AND EMOTIONAL - Chrisparkle POP CORN AWARD SHORTLISTED 2025

H H H H H - THIS BRILLIANT SCRIPT, PAIRED WITH EVEN MORE POWERFUL ACTING, HAD ME MESMERISED - EXE Radio

H H H H H - A DARK, INTENSE PLAY THAT’S A TREAT FOR ALL… …EXCELLENTLY PERFORMED - Three Weeks

H H H H H - IF YOU ENJOY DARK PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS… LOVETT IS A MUST-SEE. - Edinburgh Reviews

H H H H H - EERILY COMPELLING WORK… …UNCANNILY CONVINCING. - The Wee Review

MOTHERHOOD

MotherHood is the state of being a mother, but what if you’re a mother in a state?

Wednesday 19th November

Underground - 6pm

£5

A woman opens the door at two in the morning and tries to hang on to normal.

Lisa doesn’t have the right words or know what questions to ask in this new world of crime and law. So, what happens when doing the right thing isn’t the right thing anymore? This solo show explores the world of knife crime from a fresh perspective as a woman is forced to confront the unfamiliar world her son has collided with and compromise on what she thinks she believes in.

Lot of legal stuff being said that I don’t even get and they ask if I’m an appropriate adult.

Well yeah... I’m his mum?’

Throughout all this, however, Lisa maintains a lively down-to-earth approach to life

and the play aims to find humour in the most random moments as well as showing the impact on a mother trying to hold it all together.

Based on real events and lived experience, this story is told with an original soundscape created by In-Spire Sounds and the voices of young people who have developed music with them through the ‘Inspiring Change Through Music’ project.

MotherHood is the state of being a mother, but what if you’re a mother in a state?

Claire Nelson is an Oxford-based writer, performer and facilitator whose powerful autobiographical solo work “MotherHood” transforms lived experience into urgent social commentary.

After studying Drama at Royal Holloway, she worked professionally in rep, touring and Theatre in Education before moving into teaching and raising her family while teaching performing arts in Further Education and creating site-specific work for Oxford Castle, the Oxford Light Festival and the National Trust.

Claire developed “MotherHood” through Kay Adshead’s Mama Quilla

Mentoring Women Artists’ Initiative following her son being involved in a knife crime incident. The show premiered at Oxford’s Offbeat Festival and its script reached the final round of the BBC Open Call programme. Claire also won the prestigious Carr Webber Memorial prize for her work “Cockroach.” Her extensive performance credits include recent work in “The Women Who” and “Crossing No Man’s Land” for Mama Quilla Productions, alongside past collaborations with Palace Westcliff, Redgrave Farnham, Breakout, Transfer and Gap Theatre.

“MotherHood’s” impact extends beyond performance through Claire’s “Stories That Hit Home” initiative - a creative writing platform for families affected by knife crime, supported by Arts Council England and Thames Valley Police Community Fund. These community-generated pieces will be performed alongside “MotherHood” at the Burton Taylor Studio at Oxford Playhouse (31 March - 2 April 2026) and adapted into a short film, as the show embarks on its Arts Council England funded national tour in 2026.

Photography by Becki Cockcroft @rebeccacockcroft_photo

SNIFF THE FLOWERS

A show about life, hope and willies.

Wednesday 19th November

Royal Theatre

7.30pm

£15

Strong language, adult themes

John is lost. A recent traumatic experience has left him torn between putting on a brave face and carrying on as normal, or actually trying to admit and face up to his emotional distress, and it is a path he has no idea how to navigate.

It’ll be alright though. Honest. He’s always alright. Anyway, he has a job to so he has to be. Sniff The Flowers is an honest, emotional and darkly funny play that weaves a journey through lifes hilarities and heartbreaks. A new play written and performed by the creator of the 5* comedy Bert’s House. A show about life, hope and willies.

Funny, crazy, and extremely powerful

Very moving and relatable

Strong language, adult themes

Lou is a writer, actor and stand up comedian. He cut his stand up teeth on the Scottish circuit following a series of early gigs at the amazing Stand Comedy Club whilst living in Edinburgh. After moving back to England he performed all over the UK, winning the Jongleurs Comedy Callback competition along the way.

Over the last few years he has expanded his writing and performing, working with various theatre groups, theatre makers and film makers, developing both his script writing and acting skills. This hard work resulted in his first full length play, Bert’s House, undertaking a national tour in the spring of 2024 to both critical and audience acclaim.

He has also written and starred in a couple of short films, Starlight and BASTARDS, both of which will be available to catch this year.

RED ROSA

From a young rebel in Warsaw to a revolutionary in Berlin.

Thursday 20th November

Underground - 7pm

£5 CLICK

Rosa rose from oppression to become a fearless leader, founding the German Communist Party and challenging capitalism, war, and patriarchy. She lived radically - politically and personally as a Jewish, disabled woman. This project explores her intellectual fire, her humanity, and her relevance today, through historical archives, cats and a little live music. Part of GenFest at Northampton Royal & Derngate, Red Rosa is a call to courage, resistance, and imagination.

Red Rosa, inspired by Kate Evans’ graphic novel, illuminates the remarkable life of revolutionary thinker Rosa Luxemburg.

no more superheroes. is a bold, boundary-pushing company creating original theatre, digital work and participatory projects that speak to a new generation. We make work that’s urgent, playful and socially resonant. From national stages to grassroots spaces, we’ve partnered with organisations like the National Youth Theatre and the National Trust to nurture creatives and challenge how stories are made - and who gets to tell them.

TASH HYMAN - DIRECTOR

Tash is artistic director of no more superheroes, and a director, dramaturg and facilitator. They were Runner Up for the JMK Directors Prize in 2023. Their credits include MACHLOKET (Royal Court, Take Stock Exchange), I DON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING (The Orange Tree Theatre, 2024), PURE FROTH (The Yard, 2024) and MEET ME AT CANTORS (Leeds 2023). They direct all of no more superheroes. projects including award-winning IN MY LUNGS THE OCEAN SWELLS (Vault 2020).

ANNA ORTON - DESIGNER

Anna Orton is a designer working across Theatre, Dance, Opera and Exhibition. Her previous work exhibiting, performing and curating as a visual artist in some of Scotland’s most pioneering spaces continues to influence her work in performance design. Her design work includes the multi-award-winning production of Handel’s Messiah directed by Tom Morris, which premiered at Bristol Old Vic and was followed by a national cinema and online streaming release.

CLAIRE GILBERTPRODUCER

Claire is an international theatre producer who makes art for social change. She produces and co-runs political company British-Romanian BÉZNĂ Theatre, Off west-end award winning Out Of The Forest Theatre and Claire Gilbert Ltd. She has produced for companies including Cardboard Citizens, Deafinitely Theatre & Wayward Productions. Before becoming a freelance producer she worked with venues including National Theatre, Royal Court & Barbican Centre for Complicité.

NORAH LOPEZ-HOLDENACTOR

Norah’s previous stage appearances include: Gunter (The Royal Court, Summerhall - Edinburgh Fringe Festival) The Flea (Yard Theatre) The Art of Illusion (Hampstead), Hamlet (Young Vic), Equus (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Winter’s Tale/Eyam (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Almighty Sometimes and Our Town (Royal Exchange, Manchester), Ghosts (HOME, Manchester), and Epic Love and Pop Songs (Pleasance, Edinburgh). On radio she has appeared, amongst other things, in Assata Shakur FBI’s Most Wanted Woman, By Debbie Tucker Green, BBC Radio 4.

Social handles: @nomoresuperheroes (instagram) Website: www.nomoresuperheroes.com

BIOSPHERE

A great glass ark, into which, two by two, four scientists are sealed.

Friday 21st November

Underground - 7pm

£15

As climate change presents a fork in the road of human evolution, one eccentric entrepreneur has erected a beacon of hope: The Biosphere, an artificial enclosed set of ecosystems, designed to replicate Earth’s delicate balance seamlessly. A great glass ark, into which, two by two, four scientists are sealed.

With the world watching through the glass, the taste of salvation on the horizon and a business model on the line, this is no ordinary experiment. As the atmosphere around them begins to change, passions fray and hunger sets in.

Sealed together to find the answers to survival, what will they sacrifice to succeed?

Based on the real 1991 experiment, BIOSPHERE takes an infamous true story and transports it into the current storm of science, tech and Mars colonisation.

Examining where we find our truth, our heroes and our choices in the digital Holocene, this new play asks who we should follow to salvation - and whether we are capable of choosing at all.

BIOSPHERE is written by Olivia Foan, directed by Olivia Munk, and produced by Part of the Main, a Pleasance London Associate Company 2022-2024. In 2022, we curated a week of their Futures Festival entitled ‘The Future Is Too Hot,’ where we presented the first act of BIOSPHERE alongside two other new shows about radical approaches to the climate crisis.

Now, we are looking to partner with venues and research institutions to support a fullscale production, with a sustainable design, integrated captions, complementary audio description, and wrap-around engagement focused on researching how performance about the climate impacts perceptions of climate change. We are seeking venues with the capacity to present BIOSPHERE in thrust or in the round.

Featuring - Antonia Salib

Featuring - Lauren O’Leary

Featuring - Frazer Hadfield

Olivia Monk - Director

Featuring - Ed House

Olivia Foan - Writer

WRITING FOR MUSICAL THEATRE

With Darren Clark

Saturday 22 November

Vulkan Works 1.00pm

£5

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Darren Clark is a two-time Olivier Award winning composer and lyricist working in the theatre in the UK and internationally. Since beginning his professional career in 2012, he has been commissioned to write music and lyrics for several national touring shows and his work has been heard in London’s West End, at The Royal Shakespeare Company, Off West End, Off-Broadway and in many of the UK’s finest regional theatres.

Following his days as an Otago University student in NZ performing in countless musicals and plays, Darren left NZ for the UK to pursue a career as a songwriter in London town. Following several years on the singer/songwriter circuit and with his band Columbus Giant, Darren began to write music & lyrics for the theatre.

Darren has written the music and lyrics for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which one three Olivier awards in 2025 including Best New Musical and the OffWest End Award for Best Musical Production in 2024. Button is currently running at The Ambassadors Theatre on London’s West End.

Along with Rhys Jennings, he is the inaugural recipient of the Music Theatre International Stiles & Drewe Mentorship Award and his songs have appeared as finalist in the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Competition on three separate occasions, winning runner-up in 2015. He has been a finalist in the Iris Theatre XMas Factor Awards for the past three years, winning the Iris Theatre Panel Award in 2014, The Audience Runner Up Prize in 2015 and The Audience Award in 2016. His musicals have been licensed in the USA and Australia, his work has been showcased in the national BEAM Showcase in London and NAMT in New York.

Darren was a member of the BML Advanced Song writing Workshop, a weekly development workshop for four years. He is also a member of the MMD Advanced Composer & Lyricist Lab where he continues to learn his craft.

As a teacher and workshop leader Darren has taught at some of the UK’s leading drama schools including The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, Chichester Conservatoire, Leeds Conservatoire and Rose Bruford.

He is a founding member of Paper Balloon Theatre Company, dedicated to making original theatre for, with and by young audiences. Paper Balloon have now created several shows including Night Light at the Camden Fringe, a UK tour of The Grumpiest Boy in the World by Finegan Kruckemeyer, the utterly bonkers Christmas show Once Upon a Snowflake with the Moscow Puppet Theatre and most recently the original shanty story The Boy and the Mermaid.

Darren is passionate about being part of an ethnically and culturally diverse theatrical future and aims to reflect this in the making of all his theatrical projects. He is the founder of New UK Musicals, a project developed to help get the work of new musical theatre writers into the hands of performers through providing a platform for their sheet music. www.newukmusicals.co.uk

MUSICAL THEATRE NETWORK

Future Producers of Musicals in the Midlands networking event

Saturday 22nd November 4pm - 6pm FREE

Are you (or could you be) a producer of musical theatre in the Midlands?

• Do you make live events happen, perhaps as a creative yourself, perhaps coordinating things for collaborators or your local community?

• Are you interested in finding out more about being a producer of musical theatre in the Midlands? And about opportunities to get involved locally with new musicals/music theatre?

• Or are you an early career producer of musical theatre or music in the Midlands and want to find out more about opportunities, and meet some like-minded individuals?

If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then we’d love to invite you to a free event hosted by Musical Theatre Network,

China Plate, Musical Theatre Network and Royal & Derngate will share some industry insights, signpost relevant opportunities, and give you the chance to meet other producers/future producers, and discuss what would help you achieve your ambitions in this area. You don’t need to already be a producer. If musical theatre interests you, and you’re someone who likes making things happen –come join us for a conversation!

DOROTHY & HER VERY MANY FRIENDS

surreal 80s pop opera inspired by true stories of the persecution of gay sailors in the US Navy

Saturday 22nd November

Underground 7pm

£15

Dorothy and Her Very Many Friends is a synth-pop musical about the true story of the persecution of gay sailors in 1980s America and the futile search for the elusive ‘Dorothy’ who connected them all.

In 1980s America, the Naval Investigative Service are intensively hunting down and discharging gay sailors in the US Navy at an unprecedented rate. But if they truly want to win their war on homosexuality, they know that they must first defeat the one woman standing in their way: Dorothy.

Who is Dorothy? What does Dorothy want? How can she possibly be friends with every gay sailor? Can she bring down the entire Navy, and perhaps the country, too? Only one man, with a predictable secret of his own, can stop her.

Powered by an 80s synth pop score, ‘Dorothy and Her Very Many Friends’ is a surreal musical comedy inspired by a lesser-known chapter of queer history.

Jude Taylor is a composer, lyricist and writer from Leicestershire. He has been a Resident Creative at Curve in Leicester since 2021 and is a Royal & Derngate Generate Associate Artist.

His original musical theatre work includes The Unconventionals (VAULT Festival), Is He Musical? (Curve, Leicester; The Other Palace, London; University of Wolverhampton), Make Me Infamous (Original Audio Production) and Steep Themselves in Night (The Other Palace, London).

Jude also wrote music and lyrics for the original stage adaptations of ‘The Owl Who Came for Christmas’ (2023) and ‘Pirates Love Underpants’ (2024), which both premiered at Curve in Leicester before subsequently touring the UK. Jude was Musical Supervisor on both original productions and for the Pirates Love Underpants UK Tour. As an arranger, he has also worked on productions including The Phase (VAULT Festival) and on Trans Voices Cabaret (Turbine Theatre).

Jude’s debut EP, (Hey) Jude Taylor, was released in 2019 and is available to stream online.

WORKSHOPS

SPYMONKEY 5-DAY CLOWN WORKSHOP

Mon 15 – Fri 19 Dec 2025, 10:30am–4:30pm

Tickets £550 | Capacity 20 (includes 2 bursary places)

What makes you uniquely funny? How do you share that ridiculous brilliance with an audience so they’re helpless with laughter? In this five-day introduction to Spymonkey Clown, you’ll explore what makes your comedy special through games, improvisation and physical performance.

Led by Toby Park, co-founder of internationally acclaimed company Spymonkey, the workshop offers a safe, laughter-filled environment to take creative risks, develop trust, and discover the joy in your own ridiculousness. You’ll work on physical comedy, chorus and parody, using music, movement and play to unlock your “comedy gold.”

Open to all levels, from curious beginners to seasoned professionals wanting to reconnect with their playful side.

Bursary places are available. Find out more and register at spymonkey.co.uk.

PART OF THE MAIN

BIOSPHERE:

Tickets £5

Writing Response Workshop

Performance: November 21, 7-9 PM

Workshop: November 28, 6-8 PM

Instructor: Olivia Foan, BIOSPHERE Playwright

Using the new play BIOSPHERE as inspiration, this session explores scene structure, character and dramaturgy. Participants should attend the performance on 21 November. Led by award-nominated playwright and Northampton native Olivia Foan.

Theatre Producing Crash Course

December 5, 10:30 AM- 1:30 PM

Instructor: Olivia Munk, Artistic Director of Part of the Main Productions

Join Olivia Munk for an introduction to theatre producing, covering budgeting, fundraising, marketing, publicity and programming. Includes case studies from Part of the Main shows to help you plan and deliver your own productions.

Introduction to Theatre Green Book

Workshop: Tue 2 Dec, 1–3pm

Theatre Green Book helps theatre-makers work more sustainably through shared standards and resources. This workshop introduces its principles and shows how BIOSPHERE integrated them in practice. Led by sustainability consultant Talie Smith, it’s ideal for writers, producers, directors and backstage creatives at any stage of their sustainability journey.

More info: taliesmith.com

Please consider sustainable travel options.

Olivia Foan Playwriting Instructor

Olivia Munk (photo credit Danny Kaan)

Talie Smith TGB Instructor

CPD WEEKEND FOR EDUCATORS, PRACTITIONERS & PARENTS

Sat 17 & Sun 18 January Underground Studio, Underground 4, Rehearsal Room

Tickets £200 per person

Early Bird Offer: £150 per person

(Book before 28th November 2025)

Education Partners receive one free place.

Join us for two inspiring days of workshops and talks designed for teachers, youth leaders, and parents – all led by renowned charities, educators, and campaigners dedicated to shaping a safer, healthier digital world for young people.

Discover fresh insights and practical tools to help you guide children and teens through the opportunities and risks of life online.

Featured sessions include:

• Online Safety – South West Grid for Learning

• Healthy Masculinity – Beyond Equality

• Online Misogyny – Laura Bates

• Safeguarding in the Digital Age – Smart Horizons Child Protection

• Reframing Masculinity – Nathaniel Cole

• The Hidden Impact of Smartphones and Social Media on Child Development –Smartphone Free Childhood

Be part of a community dedicated to empowering the next generation to navigate the digital world with confidence, empathy, and resilience.

Generate Associates 2025

We are delighted to present our new Generate Associate Artists for 2025-27. They will be supported with tailored packages by Royal & Derngate over 18 months to focus on their career and artistic ambitions.

Emily Browning

Emily is an award winning, Midlands-born and based theatre director with a passion for bold new writing and intersectional feminist storytelling. She graduated from the University of Durham in 2024, during which time she directed and produced shows at the Edinburgh Fringe in both 2023 and 2024. Alongside this, she was awarded the Buzz Goodbody Directing Award at the 2024 National Student Drama Festival. She’s currently directing A Sudden Disturbing To Do List, an exciting new piece of writing premiering at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Emily is also thoroughly enjoying her role as Assistant Director on Royal & Derngate’s Young Company production of Boudica.

BoonDog Theatre

Their work is almost always darkly comic, always aims for the heart, and what they describe as “covertly political”. Their work is led with a passion for detailed research when it comes to historical or psychological elements.

Jude Taylor

Jude Taylor is a composer, lyricist and writer from Leicestershire. He has been a Resident Creative at Curve in Leicester since 2021.

Kitty Benford

Kitty is a director and theatre-maker based in Northamptonshire, whose work spans community-led projects, youth theatre, and new writing. Her practice is playful, political, and collaborative — often rooted in local stories and driven by a desire to ask big questions in accessible, imaginative ways.

Recent credits include Assistant Director on One Person Hamlet for Regeneration Theatre, and directing Fantastic Foxes at Curve as part of their Made at Curve programme — a full-scale production featuring 37 community actors.

Most recently, she assisted on The Jolly Christmas Postman. As a Generate Associate Artist, she’ll be focusing on scaling up her practice, deepening her artistic voice, sharpening her craft and developing bold new work that blends political intent with playful form.

Generate – Artist Development at Royal & Derngate

Supporting artists to create, connect and grow. Since 2012, Generate has helped over 6,000 artists through mentorship, rehearsal space, workshops, commissions, and networking opportunities.

We’re proud to partner with In Good Company, the Midlands’ leading artist support network, offering professional development and performance opportunities.