About Us
"A unique, special theatre project"
The Black Dog Theatre Creation is a special not-for-profit theatre group set up and run by Alfie James Productions which aims at using performance skills to support people suffering from poor confidence, anxiety and to help to reduce the risk of people becoming isolated. It is also open to those who simply love being creative, learning new theatre skills and staging plays regularly. Now in its sixth year it is slowly growing and is building its reputation as being a wonderful, positive, and successful group. We currently have two groups in Colchester and Camden, London and we often run short bite-size projects in Brentwood and Suffolk. We develop small projects, workshops and performances and work with other artists to offer our members the opportunity to engage in a wide range of artistic skills. Our projects are free to access and open to all.
To find out more about us click here:
WHAT'S UP NEXT...
NEW BURY ST EDMUNDS GROUP LOOKING FOR MEMBERS
Following the success of our pilot project in 2024 we are incredibly pleased to announce that our project is returning to Bury St Edmunds for another 10-week project and we're now looking for new members.
The project is open to adults aged 18+ and will be run at the Quaker Meeting Rooms on Monday afternoons 12.00-1.30pm. It's completely FREE to talk part in.
This project will see us develop a new adaptation of The Reluctant Dragon which is a short play based on the story by Kenneth Grahame. It tells the story of Saint George and the Dragon with a little twist where the dragon does not believe in violence and refuses to fight.
To book a place email:
A right witchy treat!
Our latest Black Dog Theatre Creation project in Colchester came to a wonderful end recently with our special performance of Roald Dahl’s masterful classic “The Witches.” Over the past few months, we have been exploring wordplay, raps and creating larger than life panto characters. It’s helped to further develop our confidence and break down our anxiety on stage. The performance was a big success with our sell-out audience. Here are a few snap shots and a film recording of the performance for you to enjoy. THANK YOU to everyone who took part and came along to support us.
CURRENT NEWS
Women in War Success
Our Black Dog Camden group recently collaborated with Producer Robin McManus and his theatre group 'Out of Office' to create a special weeks run of performances of the play "Women in War" at the Camden People's Theatre. This was the groups biggest project to date and we were over the moon to be told that we'd sold out several of the performances. We invited local NHS staff including nurses and ambulance drivers and volunteers to come along to see the performance for free as well local community volunteers.
The Essex Witches Community Heritage Project
We're having such a wonderful time working on our latest community heritage project. Over the past few months we have been working alongside the Essex Records Office and The Essex Witches Museum and Professor Marion Gibson to research and explore the true stories of those accused of witchcraft during the medieval times.
In November, we will be sharing what we have learnt with the Kelvedon Institute and Essex Records Office. We've put together a special presentation giving a taster of some of the audio stories, short plays, monologues and poetry as part of a free performance. Our learning resource will then be available at the Essex Records Office and donated to the Essex Witches Museum. We have also put together a special unique touring exhibition which is touring around libraries.
Space: The final frontier
Following on from last years successful Camden tour of the Reluctant Dragon which was directed by Luke Garner-Greene; we will be taking on a rather special challenge. This year we will be creating a project exploring spaces and how different spaces can affect us mentally and impact upon those who suffer from anxiety. We're also going to be exploring how a performance can be adapted to different spaces.
Tesco’s Bags for life helping to support our Bury group
Our Bury group has recently been awarded with a small grant from Tesco's Bags for life. Thank you to everyone who voted. Our next Bury St Edmunds project with the library will be starting soon so please watch this space! We're hoping to develop a fresh performance of The Reluctant Dragon.
WE’RE LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS, LOCAL ARTISTS & VOLUNTEERS
We are always looking for new people to work with including:
-New Members for all our groups (Adults aged 18+)
-Local Artists who may like to collaborate with us or be our guest workshop leaders sharing their skills.
-Volunteers to support our members
Please get in touch if you’re interested