WHAT'S ON at THEATRE AT THE TABARD
40th Anniversary Year
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2 Bath Road
London
W4 1LW
A minute’s walk from Turnham Green tube station (district line). Just leave the station and turn right. The Theatre has its own entrance in the Tabard pub’s beer garden.
The 94 Bus from the West End, Notting Hill and Shepherd’s Bush stops outside our front door. Other buses stopping nearby are the 27, 267, 237, 391, E3 and H91.
There is free parking on The Avenue after 6.30pm.
NEW SEASON: CLICK ON LINKS FOR BOX OFFICE
READ INTERVIEW WITH IN-HOUSE PRODUCERS SARAH AND SIMON REILLY CHATTING ABOUT THE TABARD'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Sunday 23rd March 3pm
By Alan Bennett, Starring Kevin McNally
In a special event for the Tabard Theatre’s 40th anniversary year, Kevin McNally stars in Alan Bennett’s first Talking Heads monologue A Chip in the Sugar.
Graham, a middle-aged bachelor, emotionally unintelligent and chronically dependent on his mother, finds life difficult enough at the best of times. When Mother meets an old flame and seems set to marry him, Graham’s old insecurities rear their ugly heads.
First broadcast on the BBC nearly 40 years ago, A Chip in the Sugar was the first of a series of dramatic monologues written by Alan Bennett and the only one which featured Alan as an actor.
With personal permission from Alan Bennett, Actor and Tabard theatre supporter Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean, I Claudius) brings this engaging monologue to our intimate stage as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations.
25 - 29 Mar 2025
Drama
Following the success of Tramonto, Ashley and Snag, Tony Traxler’s latest offering, In The Mat, debuts in spring 2025.
The wheels come off a small family business when Trevor, the younger brother of Stella, decides it’s time to invest and take risks too big for her to accept. When pushed to her limit, Stella makes her own proposal that sends their relationship into a tailspin.
Based on real events, expect a roller coaster of emotions as you see these orphaned adult siblings dismantle everything that holds them together as a family unit.
In Conversation with Lesley Nicol
30 Mar 2025
Spoken Word
Join Downton Abbey star Lesley Nicol for a very special fundraiser celebrating 40 years of the Tabard Theatre.
Lesley is perhaps best known for her role as Beryl Patmore in the ITV and PBS drama TV series Downton Abbey, a role for which she won the SAG Award three times for the Best Cast in a Drama Series category. She also starred in the 2019 feature film adaptation of the series, its 2022 sequel and the soon to be released third film. She has also had multiple television roles, including the recent Mr Bates vs The Post Office and a long list of West End credits, including playing ‘Rosie’ in the original production of smash hit musical Mamma Mia!
2 Apr - 19 April 2025
Drama
Take Note Theatre Ltd for the Tabard and Maverick Theatre Company presents
A domestic ghost story by Nick Hennegan
Bob is at breaking point. Once a proud man, he’s now in despair after losing his job—a secret he keeps from his wife and child. Every day, he pretends to go to work, hides overdue bills, and watches his world crumble. With his house on the brink of repossession, Bob has hit rock bottom.
Then, one fateful night, an unexpected lifeline appears: the winning lottery numbers. But in this cruel twist of fate, salvation comes at a price—one so dark and unthinkable that Bob must decide just how far he’s willing to go to save his family.
The play was first performed 27 years ago at a pub theatre in Birmingham and then headed on to the Edinburgh Fringe winning the National Theatre's Guinness Award.
From local writer, Nick Hennegan, this intriguing ghost story persuasively invites us to think about the frailty of life and the moral dilemmas inherent in being human.
Revived for the first time since its initial run, it now plays a limited three week run this April.
'An absorbing, entertaining play, full of originality' The Stage
13 - 14 Apr 2025
Comedy Drama
What do you get when five girls in their 20s are trapped in a flat together during the pandemic? It might sound like the setup for a punchline, but it’s actually the premise of FRUITCAKE. For slam poetry duo May and Bea, along with their flatmates Stella, Alice, and Freya, life takes an unexpected turn when what’s supposed to be the best days of their lives ends up being spent holed up in their Bristol flat, getting to know their four walls a little too well. The play humorously depicts the idiosyncrasies that are noticed when a group of people spend all their time together and the extraordinary that is found in the ordinary conversations between friends. May and Bea yearn for their slam poems to be performed live, will you join the flatmates as members of their captive audience.
23 Apr - 24 May 2025
Musical
Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado bursts onto the Tabard Theatre stage transporting us to post-war Britain, where privilege, power, and pompous authority are rife and a love-struck minstrel is on the run.
Military chief The Mikado has set out that executions are mandatory; but Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko—a slippery spiv in a zoot suit—avoids carrying them out. Enter Nanki-Poo, the Mikado’s son in disguise, desperate to marry Yum-Yum, who’s unfortunately betrothed to Ko-Ko. When the Mikado demands an execution, Ko-Ko fakes one to save himself, roping in Pooh-Bah, a pompous bureaucrat, and Pish-Tush, a clueless toff. Meanwhile, the formidable Katisha arrives, determined to reclaim Nanki-Poo as her rightful fiancé.
27 Apr 2025
Cabaret
The Piaf Story is a musical storytelling evening about the life of Edith Piaf
From humble beginnings as a child brought up in abject poverty to her precarious adolescent lifestyle as a street singer from where she is discovered by an upmarket night club owner who is the catalyst for the next stage in her career. Edith becomes an overnight sensation at his club singing "Les Chansons Realistes"..songs about the ordinary poor people of Paris who found love then lost it...songs about poverty, pain and misery all reflecting Piaf's own circumstances ..
From the slums of Paris Belleville as a street singer to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the last year of her life singing Non,Je ne Regrette Rien, Susan takes us on a journey through the highs and lows of this remarkable woman’s life whose voice and legacy continue to have an impact to this very day.
Susan Black is a singer-songwriter of many genres who has appeared at some of the top theatres and venues in London, including Jermyn Street Theatre ,The London Coliseum, Cadogan Hall and The Royal Albert Hall where she appeared alongside Dame Shirley Bassey and Beverley Knight accompanied by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She also supported the late Robin Gibb at The London Palladium, Toyah Willcox at Leicester Square Theatre and Sylvester Stallone for a special Q&A at Manchester Arena.
Earlier in her career she created a one-woman show with original material which won her an award at The Edinburgh Festival and then many appearances on the late Paul O’Grady’s Lily Savage theatre shows where she would include some Piaf songs in her repertoire.
It was the audience’s overwhelming response to these songs that inspired Susan to learn more about Piaf’s life, which eventually led to The Piaf Story ...
11 May 2025
Spoken Word
And all the world, as long as there are men, will speak of Troy.
As war-clouds gather and break over Troy, they threaten to consume the city’s women, including Queen Hekabe (aka Hecuba), the stalwart matriarch, Cassandra, her prophetess-daughter, and, caught in the crossfire, the Greek Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. All emerge from mythology as living, breathing, three-dimensional characters, whose stories are more relevant today than ever – and their increasingly intense and claustrophobic journey has a surprisingly upbeat ending.
Multi award winner Dame Siân Phillips explores the role of Queen Hekabe for the first time, joining Rachel Donovan (The Crown, Call the Midwife etc) in this emotional rollercoaster based on plays of Euripides, adapted, reconstructed or reimagined by author-director, David Stuttard. The event includes a Q&A with performers and writer.
Dee Allum and Hasan Al-Habib: Works In Progress
12 May 2025
Stand Up Comedy
Award-winning comedians Dee Allum and Hasan Al-Habib each present an hour of new material.
Dee brought her debut hour, ‘Dee Allum: Deadname’, to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe to wide critical acclaim:
“A story of gender identity told with panache, charm, self-deprecation and copious wit…an inventive, casually ironic storytelling skill…a true stand-up.” ★★★★ The Times
Dee has also been nominated for Best Newcomer at the Chortle Awards, placed as runner up in the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year award 2021, won the 2Northdown New Act Competition 2021 and was a finalist in the 2022 BBC New Comedy Award competition.
Hasan will be bringing his debut solo hour ‘Hasan Al-Habib: Death to the West (Midlands)’ to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. In 2024, his and Aisha Amanduri’s Edinburgh Fringe show “2 Muslim 2 Furious” sold out its entire run at the Festival:
“Hasan Al-Habib will be famous in at least two languages very soon with an emphatic stage presence and mainstream appeal”. Rolling Stone
Hasan has also won the 2023 Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award, and was a finalist in the 2022 Chortle Students Comedy Awards.
28 May - 21 Jun 2025
Comedy Drama
OnBook Theatre presents
“Red Peppers” by Noel Coward and “Aged in Wood” by Cian Griffin
Set in a theatre dressing room in 1936, “Red Peppers” is one of Noel Coward’s most celebrated comic one act plays. The play depicts a second-rate music hall double act, a husband and wife team, who perform two musical numbers, in between which they bicker in their dressing room and quarrel with colleagues. The original production, starring Coward and Gertrude Lawrence played in a pre-London tour, and then the West End, and finally New York, in 1936–1937. Red Peppers has been revived periodically and has been adapted for the cinema and television.
“Aged in Wood” is set in the very same theatre dressing room but in present day. 89 years have passed, but backstage antics in the world of theatre haven’t changed much. Leading lady, Deena Ames, faces an uphill battle after a disastrous opening night. An hour before curtain, she finds herself swept up in backstage drama with agents, directors, her leading man, an ex-husband and her wilful son in another comedic play very much in the style of Noel Coward. This new play by Cian Griffin is having it’s world premiere at The Tabard.
This unique production uses the same cast of six actors, each playing different parts in each play.
Directed by Jason Moore.
27 Jul 2025
Drama
Audrey Hepburn was one of the world’s most beloved icons, a beautiful film star and humanitarian. In this play, the audience has been invited to a private viewing of her film memorabilia before it’s auctioned to raise funds for UNICEF. As she finds herself alone, she entertains her guests by talking about her life, sharing her successes and failures, confronting her anxieties and fears, and finding the truth she’s never been able to voice before.
All she really wanted was to be loved and to find love. Have you ever wondered what is behind the idyllic and seemingly perfect life of Audrey Hepburn? Experience as close as you could get to… ‘An audience with Audrey!’ in Helen Anker’s new play.
6 - 23 Aug 2025
Comedy
SHAW2020 present Shaw vs. Chekhov: A Double Bill
VILLAGE WOOING by Bernard Shaw & THE PROPOSAL by Anton Chekhov
After a sell-out run of Mrs. Warren’s Profession at the Tabard last year, SHAW2020 is back and ready to bring something bold and new to the stage.
Village Wooing:A Comedietta for Two Voices– is an anti-romantic battle of the sexes comedy by Bernard Shaw. A charming two-hander in which the characters, simply named ‘A’ and ‘Z’, play a relentless game of cat and mouse across land and sea.
The Proposal–A hilarious comedy of manners and misunderstandings, where Chekhov’s blend of wit and warmth shines through the absurdities of love and marriage.
2 - 20 Sep 2025
Drama
It sometimes happens that an innocent man needs more protection than a guilty one.
It’s one of those things that might happen to anybody.
This production is the first London revival since the West End premiere in 1950 which starred Ralph Richardson. Claire Evans, in association with the R C Sherriff Trust, are presenting the first professional London production in 75 years to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of its writer R C Sherriff, best known for his World War I play, Journey’s End.
Home at Seven takes place five years after the end on the Second World War. The country is still recovering from years of bomb damage, and its people continue to endure rationing and are trying to restore normality after six years when everything had been turned on its head. David Preston is at the centre of this gripping mystery drama. An ordinary decent citizen, heis caught in a waking nightmare when he returns home from work to his wife to find that 24 hours have elapsed without him even realising it. It is now a day later than he thought. As hard as he tries, he cannot recall the events of the missing day or explain away evidence that implicates him in theft and murder.
24 Sep - 18 Oct 2025
Comedy
Shakespeare's most famous comedy is rooted in tragedy. Within the first quarter of an hour we meet a young woman confronting the horrific possibility that her twin brother is drowned, a young man in an agony of rejected love, and a household servant who believes fate has made him a slave when he should be a lord. The genius of the play lies in how the author weaves these stories together in the music of comedy while the principle characters experience life though the grating noise of tragically unfulfilled desires, self deceit, and constant humiliation. This emotional juggling act could only have been pulled off by a great writer at the height of his power.
The Chronicle Theatre Company is proud to offer its audience one of the world's greatest plays in a simple, lean and accessible production suitable for all ages and dedicated to clarity, honesty, and laughter.
30 - 31 Oct 2025
Family
Production by:
Faceplant Theatre
"It's a cold rainy night and a storm is outside,
Rain beats on the window by Lily's bedside.
She's scared of the dark so she shuts her eyes tight,
She hates nothing more than the dead of the night.
Tap tap tap
Comes the noise from the hallway..."
Will Lily conquer her fears?Will she conquer her fright? Will she conquer the ghouls in dead of the night?
Arthur McBain's witty, spooky, and heartfelt debut childrens' book has sold both internationally in Australia, Korea and Turkey, and in the UK as one of Waterstones core Children's Book Range. Faceplant Theatre are incredibly excited to be adapting McBain's story for its first ever outing as a theatrical production. McBain's second book Night of the Living Pasta has just been released, with McBain destined to become a household name as a children's author.
9 Nov 2025
Spoken Word
The definitive insight into the real life of Britain’s most notorious gangsters, from their trusted official biographer. For decades they were feared as the ultimate criminal gang lords of the London underworld, but their reign of terror came crashing to an end when in 1969 both Ronnie and Reggie Kray were given life sentences by a judge at the Old Bailey. Reggie went on to serve decades in some of the toughest prisons in the country, while Ronnie became a patient at Broadmoor with an insanity that was only kept under control by massive doses of drugs.
TV legend Fred Dinenage was chosen by the twins to tell their official story, and he became one of the very few people allowed into their inner circle. Fred gained an unparalleled insight into the real lives of the legendary kings of crime, and in this show he reveals stories and situations for the first time that have never been told publicly before.
20 - 24 Dec 2025
Returning after a sell-out run, actor Clive Francis returns to the Tabard this Christmas with his acclaimed adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic.
Francis plays the misanthropic Ebenezer Scrooge in this delightful one-man show for family audiences.
Inspired by Dickens’ first reading and performance of A Christmas Carol in December 1853, Clive Francis re-enacts this festive masterpiece with words penned by Dickens, while playing every notable character from the original, haunting story.
★★★★ “Performance of his career” Daily Telegraph
★★★★ “Touches the heart” Independent
★★★★ “Wondrous old skinflint” Daily Mail
★★★★ “Spell-binding” The Sunday Times
★★★★ “Clive Francis’ storytelling is enthralling a if it had only this minute sprung to life” The Irish Times
★★★★ “Clive Francis’s Scrooge is the best!” Birmingham Mail
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award (February 2024) has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre
London pub theatres magazine is published in Rickmansworth by London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd ISSN 2977-6724