Our 2025 round up: A year of storytelling, community and connection

As the year draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on what has been an incredibly busy and creatively fulfilling twelve months for The Play’s The Thing Theatre Company.

From staging iconic plays and touring across the country, to performing thought-provoking stories and supporting our local community space, this year has been a huge success.

In May, we staged a production of ‘A Taste of Honey’ with a talented cast of professional actors - Caroline Nash, Tayla Kenyon, Alexander J.C. Forni, Brian Bususu and Angus Roughley - at Stantonbury Theatre, Milton Keynes. Our production brought Shelagh Delaney’s groundbreaking play back into the spotlight, and the response was everything we could have hoped for. Audiences embraced it with enthusiasm, filling seats and sharing heartfelt feedback about how powerful, relevant and moving the story still feels today.

‘A Taste of Honey’ tackles issues that continue to resonate in modern society. Revisiting it reminded us why we love doing what we do – and that is bringing important stories back to life so they can be felt and discussed all over again.

Thank you to everyone who came to support the production, and to the brilliant team who helped shape it.
You can read more here and see our brilliant reviews. 

Community has also been at the heart of our work this year. We staged local performances of Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’ at York House, Stony Stratford to support much-needed building repairs at a well-loved community venue.

We performed four iconic monologues: ‘A Lady of Letters’ and ‘Bed Among the Lentils’ with Caroline Mann, ‘Soldiering On’ with Sue Whyte’, and ‘A Chip In The Sugar’ with Alexander J.C. Forni. 

These shows not only introduced local audiences to exceptional writing and local talent, but also helped raise funds for a space used by families, baby groups, clubs and countless local events. It was theatre doing what theatre does best - bringing people together for a shared purpose.

Read more about these performances and our wonderful feedback:-

•  York House June 2024 - A Lady Of Letters & Soldiering On, 
• York House February 2025 - A Chip In The Sugar & Bed Among The Lentils.

Our connection with ‘Talking Heads’ didn’t end there. In October, we took ‘A Lady of Letters’ and ‘Soldiering On’ on a seven-venue tour across the country to share Bennett’s witty and deeply human stories with new audiences far and wide.

We visited Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton, The Core Theatre in Solihull, Westacre Theatre in King's Lynn, The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury, The Albany Theatre in Coventry, Cidermill Theatre in Chipping Camden, and The Maltings in St Albans.
Each venue welcomed us warmly, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

There’s something incredibly special and powerful about performing pieces that still speak so clearly to audiences today.
Thank you to everyone who played a part in making this an incredibly exciting tour.  Find out more here. 

As a professional local theatre company, our mission remains the same - to bring live theatre to everyone and stage productions that matter, shows that challenge and performances that give people something to think about long after the lights go down. Making our performances affordable and accessible is also vital.

We already have exciting plans in motion for 2026, including a performance at The StonyWords! Festival in January.

Rosemary will be performing at York House on 30th and 31st January 2026 with 'An evening with Queen Victoria'.

It’s 1887 and the year of my Golden Jubilee and fifty years since I came to the throne as a young girl of eighteen. Please do come and spend the evening with me and hear all about these last fifty years. There have been many happy memories and great successes, but also sadness. You can ask me questions too and I shall endeavour to answer honestly. Enjoy a wonderful evening of theatre and help raise funds for York House Centre.

Find out more and book your tickets now:

We can’t wait to share more with you in the new year.  Thank you for supporting us.

Here’s to another year of powerful stories and shared moments.