WHAT'S ON at THE HEN AND CHICKENS THEATRE
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WINNER PUB THEATRE OF THE YEAR
Value added tickets: 10% off drinks pre and post show/Keep your ticket for £1.50 off shows for a year
THE HEN & CHICKENS (@TheHenChickens)
(Production company Unrestricted View)
at The Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar
109 St. Pauls Road, Highbury Corner, London, N1 2NA
LOCATION
The Hen and Chickens Theatre is just across the road from Highbury & Islington Tube and Train Station. It's at the intersection between Highbury Corner and St Paul's Road.
Presented by BIGHEAD Comedy
6th – 10th May 7.30pm £15
A darkly comic tale of fathers, failure, and the unbearable weight of legacy. When Joseph finally catches and kills a great stag, he finds himself suddenly unable to finish the job — frozen by the pressure and self-doubt. Can he break free from his father’s shadow? Or will it all be for nothing?
11th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th & 18th May 7.30pm £16.50
You know her name. You know her face. You don’t know her story…
… And neither do we!
Witness the incredibly fictionalised events that led to the Mona Lisa becoming the world’s most famous painting in this brand-new comedy musical!
From We’re Gonna Be A Dad!, creators of Hercules: Myth and Murder…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Everything Theatre
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Theatre & Arts Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – LondonTheatre1
REBOUND PRODUCTIONS’ EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE
14th May 6.30pm & 8.30pm £12
REBOUND PRODUCTIONS’ EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE:
7 new plays by new and emerging international writers, performed by Rebound Productions alumni.
HOME by SANDRA EGBON with Camille Thiaudière, Tony Sedgwick & Lavinia Burch
THE SUITCASE by BRIGID AMOS with David Ley, Desirée Hadley & Aleksandra Valkova
THE HARD WOO by ALEX DREMANN with Elizabeth Maillard, Emani Shane & Gregor Pyko
THE SURVEYOR by RICHARD FITCHETT with Kateryna Kramar, Sarj Dasarn & Jordan Lee
DOGS WAITING ROOM by BILLY ROSEVEAR with Isabel Gaytan, Tomàs Canet & Melania Adinolfi
NEIGHBOR! NEIGHBOR! by ABHISEK BHATTACHARYA with William Jukes, Isabelle Kennedy-Grimes & Tessy O’Shea
IT’S ON THE CARDS by JAMIE MCLEISH with Abhijeet Mohanty, Noah MacAdam & Amanda Gholipour
15th May 7.30pm, 6th July 7.30pm, 17th July 9.30pm, 19th July 3pm & 25th July 7.30pm £10.50
In the dark, desperate, deathly world of the middle ages, one (quite annoying) woman strives to find the light. Join CHRISTBRIDE, a female mystic in a world of male dullards, as she escapes from a life of monotony to a life of devotion. Expect fantasy, prophesies, miracles both real and fake and a mystical marriage in her bedroom to Jesus Christ our lord and saviour.
The writer and star of critically acclaimed 2024 fringe hit “The Screen Test” (‘Full of madcap ideas and caricatures…a riot from start to finish’ Broadway Baby) presents a work in progress of her debut character comedy show.
Presented by BIGHEAD Comedy
17th & 18th May 2.30pm £7.50
Foul Play
By Charlie Culley & Adela Hernandez Derbyshire
Directed by Saniya Saraf
A Rehearsed Reading
Violent horseplay. Clandestine affairs. The farcical ambitions of amateur showbiz.
This play within a play explores Shakespearean tragicomedy through the lives of six young creatives entangled together in a web of preposterous hearsay. Foul Play is a riotous black comedy that intends to make the audience cackle, cringe and question the way power is organised and distributed in creative microcosms within society.
19th May 7.30pm £11.50
Standing Ovation Award nominated Precarious Theatre host their inaugural new writing laboratory! Come and see four to six challenging and creative new scenes from writers responding to the simple prompt: take the risk, make the leap, be precarious. For more information or to submit a scene for consideration, please visit www.precarioustheatre.co.uk/precarious-nights.
20th – 24th May 7.30pm £16.50
Pub? Obviously…
Over many pints and dodgy dinners, two friends navigate the uncertain terrain of life in their twenties – where ambition meets reality and the truth of growing up hits harder than ever.
Tender, funny and sharply observed, Are We Doing This Right? is a celebration of connection in a world that rarely offers guidelines. It’s a love letter to the ones who keep us going and a reminder that sometimes the only thing we can truly get right is the willingness to embrace the journey together.
25th May 6pm £10
Well Done For Not Killing Yourself
Written and performed by Adam Rhys-Davies (BBC3 and BBC Radio 4) A struggling comedian shares the highs and lows of his seemingly ordinary life- but he’s not alone. His flamboyant alter ego, Decadent, is here to stir things up. A sharp, witty and unpredictable cabaret that blurs the lines between comedy, identity and control.
Decisions Decisions
BGT Semi-Finalist, Nerine Skinner, has always been indecisive and needs your help. Join Nerine in a very short work in progress as she asks for your help to decide what should be in her next show. Stand up and character comedy. This could change.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 “Wickedly Funny, delightfully presented and cleverly interlinked characters” One4Review
27th & 28th May 8pm £12.50/£8.50
From the team behind THE PAGEANT PLAY comes a brand new Northern comedy! The life of a disgruntled Northern teacher is thrown into disarray as he becomes embroiled in not one, not two, but three separate murder cases – all possibly spurred by his new friend. A darkly comedic northern farce about family, friends and Freshwater Koi Carp.
The Handbag Is Not Your Mother
29th, 30th & 31st May 7.30pm £12
What are you hiding in your handbag…?
We know you carry it everywhere.
Two women. Two handbags.
An unusual encounter in a Relate counselling waiting room. It starts politely—until curiosity takes over, and things go deep throat.
In this calm, quiet, and clean room, Pandora’s Bags burst open… and then—
※A handbag isn’t just a handbag. It’s your identity. Your culture. Everything you carry—whether you want to or not.
Little Lord Twinkleroy (WIP)
1st June 7.30pm £9
Oi mista! You me dad? Little Lord Fauntleroy is all grown up, disinherited (read: replaced by a younger model) and looking for a new daddy to brush his golden locks and finance his lavish (gay) lifestyle. Join Joe Pieri around the grand piano as he makes a real song and dance of the agonies of fading twinkdom.
3rd June 7pm £10
A whirlwind one-woman comedy play following a wannabe yummy mummy on her mission to have it all. Wummy is broke, flat-sharing and craving luxury. Her dream? “A Chelsea townhouse, husband, baby, nanny, and – most importantly – a bin hidden within a kitchen island!” Wummy attempts to manifest her dream life, but the universe answers her call with an unexpected bump in the road. Performed by Charis King, featured on BBC. “I would pay to watch Charis drink a cup of tea – let alone perform a show.” Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show). Direction and dramaturgy by Octavia Gilmore.
4th – 7th June 7.30pm £19.50/£16.50/£13.50
Rome 44 BC. A roaring crowd welcomes Caesar home. With his enemies dead, nothing stands between him and absolute power. This is his moment of triumph. However, a group of senators, alarmed by his ambition, conspire to kill him. With Caesar dead, will they restore balance, or will civil war tear Rome apart?
The Britpop Hour with Marc Burrows
8th June & 22nd July 7.30pm £10.50
The Britpop Hour with Marc Burrows
The Britpop Hour’ is a stand-up, musical and multimedia celebration of one of British music’s most iconic and enduring movements. Marking the 30th anniversary of the genre’s pinnacle: the 1995 Blur/Oasis chart battle, as well as coinciding with the reformed Oasis’ record-busting reunion tour, the show delves into the ridiculous stories, the OTT personalities and the enduring rivalries, all while celebrating some of the best music Britain has ever produced.
Part warm, trivia-packed tribute, part send-up and part one-man rock ‘n’ roll party, ‘The Britpop Hour’ is written and performed by award-winning music journalist, author, comedian, musician and 90s refugee Marc Burrows (The Guardian, The Quietus, The Independent, Big Issue, New Statesman). Mad fer’it, do ya know what I mean?
9th June 7.30pm £15.75
Get ready for a hilarious night of laughter and filth as Twidow Wankey’s Dirty Panto is cumming to Hen & Chicken, London! – “Oh yes it f*!?ing is!”
This unscripted, improvised adult pantomime takes all of your favourite traditional pantomimes and flips them over for a good spanking in a riotous, unpredictable journey every night.
Audiences are in for a treat as they choose the direction of every twist, turn and nipple slip as they pluck items straight from Twidow Wankey’s dirty pile.
From outrageous improvised characters to disgusting humour, no two performances are ever the same. Join us for a night of banter, rude songs, and outrageousness as Twidow Wankey and friends take you on a journey through a world where literally anything can happen – and probably will!
Just don’t bring the kids.
Attempts on her Life by Martin Crimp
10th – 14th June 7.30pm £16.50
10th – 14th June 7.30pm £16.50
Attempts to describe her?
Attempts to destroy her?
Or attempts to destroy herself?
Is Anne the object of violence?
Or its terrifying practitioner?
A woman with various identities links 17 theatrical scenarios: she is the heroine of a film in one, a victim of civil war in another, an international terrorist, a porn star, and the subject of a conversation among friends. She is the living embodiment of Crimp’s underlying declaration that coherent identity in the modern world is little more than myth.
Not Quite Ready Productions presents a revival of Martin Crimp’s radical play ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE, which will challenge audiences with its bold experiments in form and content.
CW: Please note this production contains explicit content, including strong and discriminatory language, references to and possible depictions of death, murder, suicide, self-harm, violence (including sexual violence), child abuse, terrorism, pornography and drug and alcohol abuse. There will be flashing lights and loud noises.
15th June 7.30pm £10.50
Rosa Garland is a critically acclaimed clown who likes slime. She is the brain and body behind the sell-out queer cult hit Trash Salad (Soho Theatre, Pleasance).
This is a new WIP for people who want to see what happens when a clown explores kink, but don’t necessarily want to date Rosa to find out. If you fancy her you should defo still come tho.
★★★★★ FringeBiscuit
★★★★★ To Do List
★★★★ EdFringeReview
★★★★ Telegraph
17th, 18th & 19th June 7.30pm £12
Our show features 4 Micro-Theatre plays about life’s biggest paradoxes: family, love, friendships, and work, and how to balance it all without losing your marbles! These sarcastic comedies are in Spanish for homesick Spanish-speakers in London; translation into English is provided as these struggles and laughs are universal, no matter where you’re from.
20th & 21st June 7.30pm £11.50
The Fisherman, is a whimsical comedy set against the rugged, windswept shores of 19th-century Cornwall. Weaving together the salty charm of coastal life with nautical folklore, The Fisherman is a timeless tale of friendship, forgiveness, and the magic that lies beneath the surface of life’s storms.
22nd June 7.30pm £10.50
Come play! In the Room of Piss you MUST follow the rules, and nothing but the rules. We know that Piss should be Yellow and blood should be Red but nothing is as it seems in the world of kidney disease… Prepare to have your beliefs shaken in a vibrant whirlwind of colours and physical theatre performance.
Warning content: This performance contains themes of chronic illness, including mentions of medical procedures, discussions of mental health struggles, and themes of mortality. Beeping sounds, swearing.
Tales of a Jane Austin Spinster
23rd, 24th & 25th June 7.30pm £16.50
When a Jane Austen heroine, unlucky in love, finds herself thrown into the modern world, she must set aside her customs to brave this new world of courtship. But the unsolicited pictures and lack of chivalry may be too much for her! Will she find love or retreat back into the safety of her pages?
26th, 27th & 28th June 7.30pm £12.50/8
“Dating, friends, work – what choices do you make when you don’t have enough Spoons?”
Spoons is a fast-paced, funny and deeply moving new play about trying to live a full life when your body won’t cooperate. It follows Tara—a smart, optimistic thirtysomething trying to navigate dating apps, sexist workplaces, and the UK healthcare system—all while battling chronic fatigue syndrome. With humour, heart, and a sharp eye on systemic injustice, Spoons explores what it means to keep going when the world keeps saying “just push through.”
Clementine 3: The Rebellion On Ice Part 6 (The Movie) Now in Colour!!!
30th June 7.30pm £6
Miss Lady Clementine is BACK (due to unpopular demand!). She’s off to The Big City to find the best version of herself. But soft—revolution’s in the air. Will our fearless heroine keep her wits or lose her head entirely?
Guardian’s Top Ten Comedy of 2023. Absolutely barnstorming performance’ – ★★★★ (Telegraph) ‘Remarkable’ – ★★★★ (The Guardian). ‘Delirious, demented stuff’ – ★★★★ (Chortle) Telegraph’s Funniest Shows at the Fringe and one of the British Comedy Guide’s Top Reviewed Shows
