Fast-moving and highly entertaining, The talented and award-winning Big Spirit imagine what life would be like if the much-loved aristocrats of Downton Abbey go and live in a local housing estate!

Presented by Big Spirit Youth theatre as part of a double-bill with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

You can choose you see one or both productions, but you get a discount if you choose both.

£13 each or £20 for both (concessions of £10 each or £15 for both)

To obtain the discount you must book the performances in the same booking and for the same date.

The discount is applied at the check-out.

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box.

A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius. The small cast and unit set make this a perfect option for high schools or community theatres. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a fast-paced crowd pleaser and an instant theatre patron favorite.

Presented by Big Spirit Youth theatre as part of a double-bill with Downton Shabby.

You can choose you see one or both productions, but you get a discount if you choose both.

£13 each or £20 for both (concessions of £10 each or £15 for both)

To obtain the discount you must book the performances in the same booking and for the same date.

Oedipus, the King of Thebes, is determined to save his city from a devastating plague. 

As he searches for the truth behind the curse afflicting the land, he uncovers a shocking mystery about his own past. What begins as a quest for justice becomes a tragic journey of fate, pride, and discovery. 

In this powerful retelling of Oedipus, by Ensemble Youth Theatre, secrets unravel and the line between destiny and choice is tested.

written by Willy Russell

directed by Max Davis

Rita is a bright eyed, working class hairdresser who dreams of breaking free from her mundane and routine life. She signs up to attend an Open University course in Literature and meets Frank, a middle aged disillusioned academic, disappointed writer and somewhat professional drinker.

Even Frank describes himself as “an appalling teacher”, but her sheer zest for life re invigorates him and a journey of rediscovery for both of them begins. Educating Rita is a life affirming, moving and hugely funny play that brings together an unlikely pairing of two worlds in perfect collision.

Willy Russell’s play is a heartwarming timeless British classic that has won the love of audiences for decades.

In four seasons nature completes its cycle. A girl can become a woman. A belly can swell and become a creature. One can lose the path that once led safely home, or cross seas toward unknown lands. In four seasons one can die and be reborn.

Vermiglio tells of the final year of the Second World War in a large family and how, with the arrival of a refugee soldier, by a paradox of fate they lose their peace at the very moment the world regains its own.

Italy, Drama,115minutes

REVIEW | TRAILER

From Warner Bros. Pictures and writer‑director Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another follows Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed‑up revolutionary living off‑grid with his daughter Willa. When his old nemesis resurfaces and Willa disappears, Bob is forced back into the violent world he left behind.  The film blends political paranoia, counterculture energy, and PTA’s signature dark humour, featuring Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and newcomer Chase Infiniti.

Crime, thriller, 155m

REVIEW | TRAILER

The Playboy of the Western World

by John Millington Synge

directed by Caitríona McLaughlin

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery.

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin directs this darkly funny tale full to the brim with secrets.

Backstairs Billy by Marcelo Dos Santos is a sharp, witty and surprisingly touching comedy that takes audiences behind the closed doors of Clarence House to reveal a side of royal life rarely seen.

At the centre of the story is William “Billy” Tallon, the Queen Mother’s devoted and fiercely protective page. Billy rules the royal backstairs with theatrical flair, razor-sharp wit and unwavering loyalty to the woman he serves.

Set during a time of great social change in Britain, the play explores loyalty, identity and the quiet power of those who live their lives in the shadows of the monarchy. With sparkling dialogue, moments of delicious camp humour and surprising emotional depth, Backstairs Billy offers a fascinating glimpse into the private world behind royal protocol.

Both hilarious and poignant, this critically acclaimed play shines a light on one of the royal household’s most intriguing characters and the complicated relationships that existed behind palace doors.

This production holds a special resonance for audiences at the Queen Mother Theatre. As the only theatre in the world to carry her title, it feels especially fitting that this story of her household is brought to life on our stage. In many ways, it feels as though the play is almost coming home.

Discover Lee Miller, the pioneering war photographer who documented the truth of the Nazi regime.  A Sky Original film starring Kate Winslet, Lee follows Miller’s extraordinary journey from model to frontline correspondent, capturing some of the most iconic and harrowing images of WWII.

Presented as part of The Hitchin Festival

Drama, war, 117m

REVIEW | TRAILER

Les Liaisons Dangereuses  

by Christopher Hampton

based on the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

directed by Marianne Elliott

BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin.

Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire.  But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.

Presented as part of The Hitchin Festival

This documentary is a portrait of Edna O’Brien, the groundbreaking Irish novelist whose life was marked by literary fame, controversy, exile, and artistic reinvention.

The film includes readings from her journals (voiced by Jessie Buckley) and contributions from writers such as Gabriel Byrne and Walter Mosley, tracing O’Brien’s journey from banned author to international icon.

Documentary, 100m

Presented as part of The Hitchin Festival

REVIEW | TRAILER