Chickenshed (also known as Chicken Shed or the Chicken Shed Theatre Company) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

company based in

Southgate, London Southgate is a suburban area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Enfield, north of Charing Cross. History Southgate was originally the south gate of Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street n ...

History

Chickenshed was founded by teacher Mary Ward and composer Jo Collins in 1974. Mary and Jo hosted their sessions in a disused chicken shed in Wrotham Park, kindly gifted to them by local landowner Lady Elizabeth Byng. The theatre troup went by “The Lady Elizabeth Theatre Workshop” for a while in her honour, but soon the name “Chicken Shed” stuck and the former was dropped. Chickenshed truly was founded in an old, disused chicken shed! After meeting John Bull in the 1980s, who ran local children’s home “Cheviots”, Chickenshed’s journey of true inclusion had well and truly begun. Chickenshed Theatre

Chickenshed has a purpose built theatre complex in Southgate which opened in 1994 after a national-scale fundraising effort, supported by the likes of Dame Judi Dench and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. The theatre has four performance spaces: The Rayne Theatre which can seat up to 300 people, a smaller Studio Theatre, and Amphitheatre and a bar/restaurant that regularly hosts live music and comedy evenings. Chickenshed is registered as a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

under the name The Chickenshed Theatre Trust. In 1996, company founder Mary Ward was awarded the MBE for Services to the Arts, followed in 1999, with a Creative Britons Award, to acknowledge her 25 years of work with the theatre, while co-founder Jo Collins was awarded the MBE in the 2001

New Year's honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, for Services to Music. Chickenshed has performed at a number of public events, including

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

celebrations in 2002. A show to commemorate 100 years of

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's classic children's story ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' was staged by the theatre company at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

, London in 2004, in order to raise funds for

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

. Since 2000, Chickenshed has established 19 'Sheds' in the UK,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and two in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. These Sheds have been set up and trained by Chickenshed but then go to run independently, linked to Chickenshed by a shared vision of inclusive practice and philosophy. Notable patrons of Chickenshed include Diana, Princess of Wales, Lord and Lady Rayne, Dame Judi Dench, and Michael Williams. Notable alumni of Chickenshed's membership and education courses include Jamie Demetriou,

Miriam-Teak Lee Miriam-Teak Lee (born 1 November 1994) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Juliet Capulet in ''& Juliet'', for which she won a 2020 Laurence Olivier Awards, 2020 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Laurence Oli ...

and Natasia Demetriou.

Education

Chickenshed present original and entertaining productions for young children, families, and adults, inspired by our community and the world around them. Chickenshed's membership programme comprises four Children's theatre groups and two Youth theatre groups for young people aged 5–21 years. They hold weekly theatre workshops for children, young people and adults. Chickenshed take performing arts training to the next level, by bringing together young people from all social and economic backgrounds, cultures, and abilities to study creatively alongside each other. Over 200 students join th
BTECFoundation Degree
an
BA courses
every year. Chickenshed's work incorporates many varied performing arts activities, and participants develop skills in acting, music and dance, as well as building a range of life skills such as teamwork, leadership, adaptability and interpersonal skills.

Music

The first musical writers for Chickenshed were Jo Collins and Anthony Filby, who together formed Colby Music, through which they published a collection of musicals that Chickenshed performed. The music team has since greatly expanded. In December 1997, Chickenshed released a single, entitled "I Am In Love With The World", performed by children from the theatre. At

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or When gambling, o ...

of 4/1, the song was one of the contenders to become the UK Christmas number-one single. However it reached only #15 in the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

, remaining in the Top 75 for six weeks. The song was included on '' Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute'', a charity album recorded following the death of

. Diana had been the royal patron of the theatre along with Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

. Late 2003 saw the release of ''The Chicken Shed Album'', a compilation that marked the 30th anniversary of the theatre company. Contributors to the album included supporters of the organisation, such as singer and actor Sir

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, former Spice Girl

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Pop music, pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the ...

, and actors

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...

and Sir

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

, as well as three tracks by Chicken Shed itself. Jo Collins & Chickenshed recorded a song, "Talk Through Me" for the 2007

show tunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

album ''

Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role ...

''. In 2023, Chickenshed auditioned for

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

, where they performed their own version of ''Wonder'' by

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan (; born 1 January 1981), known professionally as Naughty Boy, is an English DJ, record producer, music programmer and songwriter. In 2012, Khan signed a three-year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a recording contract wit ...

and

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé ( ; previously Gouraguine; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sandé rose t ...

. After their performance,

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B / UK Garage group Mis-Teeq, who had seven UK top 10 hits, ...

pressed her Golden Buzzer, sending the group directly through to the Semi-Finals.

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

remarked, "It was amazing, the choreography was fantastic ndyou were all in sync", with Alesha adding, "I love every single thing that you stand for and what you represent sinclusivity is so important". In their Semi-Final, they performed '' If You're Out There'' by

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

. Alesha described the group as "Incredible ambassadors for young people out there', with

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...

adding, "This was a powerful message delivered straight from the heart". They failed to reach the final.

Discography

"Have A Heart At Christmas" (single, 1994) # "Have A Heart At Christmas" # "Rhapsody In Blue" (featuring Larry Adler) # "I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise" (featuring Larry Adler & Issy van Randwyck) "I Am In Love With The World" (single, 1997) # "I Am In Love With the World" # "Don't Know If I Believe In Christmas" # "Little Tommy" # "Chicken Menace" ''The Chicken Shed Album'' (album, 2003) # "Watch Me Come Alive" -

# "As Far as the Eye Can See" - Gabrielle # "I Am In Love With the World" - Chicken Shed # "Sometimes" -

# "The Wedding Dance" - Dmitry Sitkovetsky # "Can I Love Him?" - Sam Brown # "Bits and Pieces" -

# "Trail My Soul" - Chicken Shed # "Looking For Love" -

Richard O'Brien Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...

# "Will It Happen To Me?" -

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include " I Know Him So Well" (a chart-topping duet with Elaine Paige), " Answer Me" and " January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK ...

# "Elijah" -

# "First Love" - Chicken Shed # "Mad Little Sad Boy" - Kenneth Branagh # "Still Waters" -

Misty Oldland Misty Oldland (born Michéle Oldland) is a British singer-songwriter. Her songs include " A Fair Affair (Je T'Aime)" and "Got Me a Feeling", featuring soul singer Omar Lye-Fook. Three of her singles charted on the UK Singles Chart while also ...

# "We Need Each Other" -

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

# "Dream a We Real Yew" - Kenneth Branagh

References

{{Coord, 51.64446, -0.14521, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Disability theatre Children's theatre Theatre companies in the United Kingdom Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom Children's charities based in the United Kingdom Educational charities based in the United Kingdom 1974 establishments in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Organizations established in 1974 Cockfosters Theatres in the London Borough of Enfield