Current Projects 

Bliss by Fraser Grace

Bliss, by Fraser Grace, makes its London debut this Spring at the Finborough Theatre.  Playing May 17th to June 11th, this marks the full premiere of a play we’ve had in the works since 2019.  Postponed twice due to the pandemic, we are now looking forward to this run with a fantastic cast, a published script and a great story to tell – of struggle, survival and redemption amidst world-shattering events.  Check out the Finborough’s website here for full details.

ESCAPISM – Radio Plays to Perform and Record at Home.  June 1st – August 1st 2020

Tired of Lockdown?  Want something fun and creative to do?  Welcome to Escapism.  Original radio plays for you to perform and record at home.  Your chance to star in a radio performance of plays written by professional playwrights.  Open to children, young people and adults of all ages.  You can do it alone or with your household – the important thing is to have fun making something original.  And it’s all FREE.  Read on for details.  

There are 4 plays to choose from, each 10-15 minutes long, each for a different number of performers.  Record on your phone, computer, tablet or even your multi-track recording studio, it’s all the same to us.  Once you’ve finished, send it to Menagerie and we will release it to the world via social media.  Performers and sound effects wizards, over to you…  

Before you do any recording, CLICK HERE for guidelines on how to get the best results and how to send the recording to Menagerie.   Then click on the play titles to take you to the scripts.   Here they are: 

Island Ecology by Craig Baxter.  For 4 performers.  Stranded on a desert island, 4 friends have to learn how to survive without descending into brutality and power games.

Headhunters by Fraser Grace.  For 3 performers.  A crazy journey into a secret world.  Chubber, Lalli and Bodge get inside heads to fix minds, mend pains and flush out bad memories.  But this job is the toughest yet.

The Fall by Vanessa Ackerman.  For 2 performers.  Hansel and Gretel set the record straight about who they are and what really happened the night they finally got home from the forest.

A Drop of Human Kindness (Female Version) and A Drop of Human Kindness (Male Version) by Danusia Iswaszko.  For 1 performer.  A story about the joys of gardening and the terror of being indoors with the one you love more than anything in the world.  

‘A Drop of Human Kindness’ is the only one which specifically requires an adult for the role.  All the other 3 plays can be performed by children, young people and/or adults.  

Whether you’re an old hand or this is your first time, just give it your best shot and we will do the rest.  As the saying goes, Get Creative at Home!

Productions

Click on the links to read more about recent productions: The Great Austerity Debate and bloominauschwitz

Menagerie’s core focus is getting plays performed. That’s what we love to do.

From major performances in international venues to local festivals we strive to produce the best plays by the best playwrights.

Through commissions, writer development workshops and our Hotbed festival, writers find their way to getting produced with us – as long as it engages we will strive to produce it! Work has been seen on stages across the world from India to the USA but is mainly produced with a keen eye on engaging, challenging and connecting with UK audiences. Here work has been produced in theatres across the country including Soho, The Shaw, Theatre 503, The Colchester Mercury, Cambridge Junction, Manchester Royal Exchange, Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse, Bury Theatre Royal, Plymouth Drum and The Bristol Old Vic.

Our rich history of work has seen an extraordinary canon being established from first time writers such as Janice Okoh (Egusi Soup), through  to major international artists such as Naomi Wallace (Retreating World). We are proud to include writers such as Fraser Grace (Gifts of War and Frobisher’s Gold) , Steve Waters (The Cull and Out of Your Knowledge), Craig Baxter (Hard Sell and Let Newton Be!)  as Associates of the company, following productions of two or more of their plays.

Our work has been directed by core company members and supported by directors such as Josie Rourke, Fiona Kelcher, Karen Kholhaas and Jacqui Honness Martin.

Actors in Menagerie productions have included  Roger Sloman, Janet Suzman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Gin Hammond, Darren Strange, Shuna Snow, Ellen Thomas and  Jasmine Hyde.

But most of all our history of work has been about embracing new ideas, new stories and new people as we aim to fulfill our motto: Rare Theatre, Well Done.