the queen's theatre, station lane
1953 – 1975

The original Queen’s Theatre was fashioned from a derelict building in Station Lane, Hornchurch, which had been a cinema from 1913 – 1934 and a storage of furniture for bombed buildings during World War II.

In 1948 it was purchased by Hornchurch Urban District Council who, with great flair and civic imagination, established a small theatre with seating for 379 patrons in a raked auditorium. The theatre was officially opened by Sir Ralph Richardson on 21 September 1953 with a production of Philip King’s See How They Run. The inaugural Artistic Director was renown actor and director Stuart Burge, with Anthony Bavage as Administrator, Jean Love as Designer and Harold Brooks as Master Carpenter.

The small proscenium stage, over 22 years, presented over 400 plays. The theatre bar was formerly the projection room of the cinema, there was no fly tower, no paint frame in the workshop and the dressing rooms were so small that camaraderie became essential as there wasn’t enough room to have a quarrel!

But despite these conditions, or possibly because of them, the Queen’s Theatre was a nursery of talented artists, not only of actors but also of directors and designers, a remarkable number of whom became well-known figures in theatre and television.

From the very beginning, the Queen’s Theatre was running a “repertory” company, named the Queen’s Players, a testing experience for company and audience alike. The company was rehearsing the next play by day and performing the current piece in the evening. There were no “stars”, but rather a company of first rate and experienced actors. As time went on, the audience found additional pleasure in seeing these familiar actors in a series of contrasting parts and this is still true today!

Many of the Queen’s Players left Hornchurch to become household names in theatre (Joan Plowright, Peggy Ashcroft, Timothy West), television (Prunella Scales, Nigel Hawthorne, Stephanie Cole, Graham Crowden, Frank Thornton, Wilfred Brambell), cinema (Anthony Hopkins, Bernard Cribbins, Liz Fraser), radio (Brian Hewlett, Glyn Houston, Gwen Watford, James Grout) and even politics’ (Glenda Jackson).

Also in 1953 an Amateur Dramatic Society was formed by the late Errol Pryce Rees. With the opening of the Queen’s Theatre, the membership decided to widen their policy and re-constitute the society as the Queen’s Theatre Club, dedicated to supporting the professional theatre in every possible way.

If you were involved with the Queen's Theatre, Station Lane in any way between 1953 and 1975 we would love to hear from you. Please contact us with any information that you feel is relevant and usable in this online archive.

Please email archive@queens-theatre.co.uk

- Queen's Theatre, Station Lane - 1953 - 1975
- Queen's Theatre, Billet Lane - 1975 - 1997
- cut to the chase... 10th Birthday - 1998 - 2008