Hotbed

Hotbed is The Cambridge New Writing theatre festival produced by Menagerie Theatre Company, co-produced with the Cambridge Junction 

Hotbed 2022: July 15-17th at Cambridge Junction

Hotbed returns in July with 3 packed days of live theatre.  See the full programme here and book tickets via the Cambridge Junction website.

Tickets are now on sale but watch out, there is limited availability as we are abiding by current guidelines for theatre events.  So, to avoid disappointment, book early! 

Our featured piece this year is The Summer Before Everything, by Bohdan Tokarskyi and Maria Montague.  This wonderful piece of verbatim theatre from Ukraine was first featured at Hotbed 2016.  With the war still raging on, we are doing a brand new production with all ticket sales going to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.  

We’ve also got guest productions, experimental scratch performances, readings, and workshops from local, regional, national and international artists.  Tickets can be booked by following the links or going to the Cambridge Junction website.  

Held since 2002, Festival commissions have included work by Tim Etchells, Naomi Wallace, Steve Waters, Fraser Grace, Ed Harris, Diane Samuels, Jane Upton, Chris O’Connell and Janice Okoh as well as dozens of first-time and up-and-coming writers.

Hotbed 2017

Hotbed 2017 took place on Saturday July 8th at Cambridge Junction.  Featuring exciting new productions from our Young Writers’ Workshop, the latest play from acclaimed writer Janice Okoh, special commissions, a remarkable collaboration with local school students and other Cambridge cultural organisations, and time to drink, eat and chat in between!

Hotbed 2017 - 1

Hotbed 2016

The brochure for 2016 will be uploaded here soon.

 

Hotbed 2015

Hotbed 2015 has come and gone in a blaze of new writing energy.  Thank you to all the artists, audiences and supporters who made it such an exciting and wide-ranging festival.  Highlights were the What’s Up Doc? commissions, led by Craig Baxter and Martina di Simplicio’s collaboration on ‘Pictures of You‘, the international guest artists Na Perone from Slovakia with their production of ‘Fasbuk‘, and the Menagerie Young Writers’ Showcase which closed the festival on a high.

 

Download Hotbed 2015 Festival Programme

Download Hotbed_Schedule

For full show details, click on the links below:

Full Productions:

Fasbuk by Slovakian company Na Perone, Luke Wright in Stay-at-Home Dandy, Luke Wright in What I Learned from Johnny Bevan, A Lie by Francesca Beard, Professional Supervision by Tom Martin and The Sunset Five by DugOut Theatre.

The Sunset Five has now been replaced by Goodbear by DugOut Theatre.

These are completed productions including commissioned and guest work.

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What’s Up Doc? Plays:

Pictures of You by Craig Baxter, How to Cheat…And Be a Winner by Grace Knight, Fifteen by Sarah Davies

These are plays which have been written by a playwright in conversation or correspondence with a ‘Doc’.  The Docs are those who sit as thought leaders in their field (academic, scientific, political).

Special Event:

What’s Up Doc? Breakfast – a chance to discuss the What’s Up Doc? Plays

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Works in Progress and Staged Readings:

Guesthouse by Nicola Werenowska,  Offside by Sabrina Mahfouz and Hollie McNish and TRAILER/trash by Mike Elliston.

These are semi-staged performances presenting the early drafts of exciting ideas.  They may be script-in-hand or learned: all exciting and raw.

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Cambridge Productions:

Black Cat by Corkscrew Theatre, MaD: New Plays by WRiTEON, Connie and the Suffragettes by Ros Connelly, The Cambridge Monolgues: Voices of the Past by Kay Blayney, Memory Bank devised by Cambridge Community Arts Drama Group, Streets and Dreams by Year 8 students from Coleridge Community College and Patience the Campervan by Kay Blayney, specially for children aged 4-8.

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Menagerie Young Writers:

Collection One: Immobile by Daniel Hutchinson, Beached by James McDermott and Violet Night by Rebekah Miron-Clayton

Collection Two: The Tinder Game by Michelle Sewell and Happy Birthday by Lindsay Oldham.

A collection of new one act plays from the Menagerie Young Writers’ Group (16-25), specially commissioned for Hotbed.

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Workshops:

Energy-Movement- Space led by Na Perone, Theatre of the People led by Marina Pallares Elias and The Birth of Panda Man led by Fraser Grace and Paul Bourne.

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One Page Play Competition:

We are still accepting entries for our One Page Play Competition. Selected plays will be performed at the Hotbed Festival.  If you are 16 and over you can enter the adult competition.  We also have a young writers category for those aged 15 years and under.

One Page Play Guidelines 2015

One Page Plays Guidelines 2015 – 15 and under

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Hotbed is supported by:

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