Productions Update

Our current commission, Bliss, by Fraser Grace, will now be presented at London’s Finborough Theatre from February 1-26th 2022.   For Cambridge audiences, we are presenting two previews at Cambridge Junction on January 27-28th.  Full details of how to book coming soon.  

Bliss follows the remnants of two families struggling to rebuild themselves and their futures after the ravages of the Russian Civil War and Revolution.  Adapted from a short story by Soviet writer, Andrey Platonov, Bliss finds comedy and tragedy walking side by side in this epic story of survival, loss and love. 

Trumpington Voices

A Public Art project featuring theatre!  A verbatim play drawn from ongoing interviews with residents old and new in the ever-changing Trumpington area of Cambridge.  

Visit the project website here.

Menagerie launches Supporters scheme

On November 15th 2021, we are launching our Menagerie Supporters scheme.  This is a way for you to become a more active supporter of our work to develop and produce new writing.  We are aiming to raise £6,000 in our first year of the scheme.  Click here to find out more and how to donate.

Welcome to Kay.  Farewell to Alison. 

We welcome Kay Blayney to our Board.  Kay is an educational leadership specialist who has a long assocation with Menagerie and we are delighted to finally have her serving on the Board.  We know that she will bring energy, enthusiasm and ideas as we set our course for 2022 and beyond.  

We also bid a fond and thankful ‘goodbye’ to Dr Alison Pearn who had served on the Board for over 10 years.  She gave so much time, thought and expertise, with particular support going to the setting up of The Ideas Stage.  We already miss her and wish her well.

Hotbed Festival 2021 – Our Review

We made a grand return to live theatre with the Hotbed Festival held over the weekend of July 16^th – 18^th.  It was a very moving experience for performers and audiences to be in each other’s company once more.  We had a full programme, ranging from our homegrown new writing, ‘Love, No Country’, ‘Fallible’ and ‘Phenomenon’ to guest productions, readings and even a show in the Menagerie van – Abi Zakarian’s ‘Covid Confidential’.  We were very proud to host the launch of Steve Waters’ memoir ‘A Life in 16 Films’.    All in all, we did what we do best – offering writers the opportunity to develop their craft and see their work in front of an audience.

The Ideas Stage

Menagerie Gets Support from  Cultural Recovery Fund

We are happy and proud to announce that we received funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund.  We are immensely grateful to Arts Council England and DCMS.  The award allows us to continue developing great new writing & writers, and it means we can prepare for a dynamic return to live theatre in 2021   

Coronavirus Update – December 2020

Menagerie, as with many of our  colleagues,  continues to work from various homes and dining room tables.   On the  bright side, we are also able to work – socially distanced – back at Cambridge Junction, thanks to the hard work of Junction staff.  We still crave everything that theatre does so well: social creativity, the proximity of friends and strangers, the thrill of participating in or watching a live event.  We look forward to the time when we can create live new work again, and wish you well as we move into a brighter year, 2021.