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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

company based in

Southgate, London Southgate is a suburban area of North London, England in the London Borough of Enfield. It is located around north of Charing Cross. The name is derived from being the south gate to Enfield Chase. History Southgate was originally the ''South ...

. Chickenshed's membership programme comprises four Children's theatre groups and two Youth theatre groups for young people aged 5–21 years. They run Saturday and holiday workshops for ages 5–12 years and performance and singing workshops for adults. They also operate education courses in inclusive performing arts at BTEC, Foundation Degree and BA (Hons) Levels. Notable alumni include Harvey Thompson, Shiloh Maersk, Amelia Jenner and Jimmy Adamou

History

Chickenshed was founded by teacher Mary Ward and composers Jo Collins and Anthony Filby in 1974. It began in a disused chicken barn in Barnet, which is how it came to be called Chickenshed. Mary Ward started teaching in 1966 and was struck by how much better the children she taught could be reached through drama than any other subject and those who struggled in other fields shone in an environment where the work was created to fit those taking part rather than vice versa. Chickenshed has a purpose built theatre complex in Southgate. The theatre has four performance spaces: The Rayne Theatre which seating 300, a smaller Studio Theatre, and Amphitheatre and a Bar/restaurant that regularly hosts music and comedy evenings. They also have a branch in Kensington and Chelsea. Since 2000, Chickenshed has established 19 'Sheds' in the UK and two in Russia. 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. We are always looking for organisations or consortiums of organisations to work with us to establish new 'Sheds' / inclusive community theatre groups. Chickenshed is registered as a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * 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 sharing * C ...

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's golden jubilee 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 succ ...

's 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 mythi ...

'' was staged by the theatre company at the

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

, London in 2004, in order to raise funds for

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, 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 Hospit ...

. Chickenshed appointed Lou Stein as its artistic director on 4 April 2016.

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 off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

of 4/1, the song was one of the contenders to become the UK

Christmas number-one single In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

. However it reached only #15 in the chart, 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, Princess of Wales. 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. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, who is also a great supporter, and it was one of her favorite charities. 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

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million recor ...

, Bob Hoskins and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

, 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. T ...

album '' Over the Rainbow'', in aid o
The Association of Children's Hospices

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

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

# "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', 'Answer Me' and ' January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a ...

# "Elijah" -

# "First Love" - Chicken Shed # "Mad Little Sad Boy" - Kenneth Branagh # "Still Waters" - Misty Oldland # "We Need Each Other" -

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

# "Dream a We Real Yew" - Kenneth Branagh

References

External links

Chickenshed website
{{Authority control 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