Welcome
Claque are the founders and leading exponents of community plays. Since 1979 they have been transforming the way in which people view theatre and community through large-scale and inclusive community plays.
“The plays ... are very much about shared energy. It’s an old fashioned notion; a couple of hundred people come together and surprise themselves by what they can do.” Times Educational Supplement
Claque Theatre began life as the Colway Theatre Trust with the production of the Lyme Regis community Play in 1978. The Trust was formed by Ann Jellicoe as a vehicle for exploring and developing the community play as an accessible and innovative form of theatre. In 2000, Colway relocated to Kent and changed its name to Claque to reflect the South East's close proximity to Europe.
Under the direction of Jon Oram since 1985, Claque has produced 50 community plays across the United Kingdom and in Canada, the United States and Europe. The plays are always of high artistic quality which they achieve by working with leading playwrights and respected experienced directors and associates from across the theatre disciplines. Together, the production teams offer design, set and stage management services as well as creative and educational workshops, Empty Gallery installations and events.
“The plays ... are very much about shared energy. It’s an old fashioned notion; a couple of hundred people come together and surprise themselves by what they can do.” Times Educational Supplement
Claque Theatre began life as the Colway Theatre Trust with the production of the Lyme Regis community Play in 1978. The Trust was formed by Ann Jellicoe as a vehicle for exploring and developing the community play as an accessible and innovative form of theatre. In 2000, Colway relocated to Kent and changed its name to Claque to reflect the South East's close proximity to Europe.
Under the direction of Jon Oram since 1985, Claque has produced 50 community plays across the United Kingdom and in Canada, the United States and Europe. The plays are always of high artistic quality which they achieve by working with leading playwrights and respected experienced directors and associates from across the theatre disciplines. Together, the production teams offer design, set and stage management services as well as creative and educational workshops, Empty Gallery installations and events.
Coming Events
Paths and Happy Highways
Rusthall Community Play 2021
Our ambition is to deliver two distinctively separate yet inter-dependent projects from September 2021. The first project ‘Paths’ will involve a mixture of events, and the ideas and material it produces will inform the the second, The Happy Highway, a theatrical promenade on and around the paths of Happy Valley.
We start on 9th September with an on line Empty Gallery Conversation to let people know about the outline of our programme and invite ideas and feedback, building on a sounding we held at the end of the play last year. We want to know what you want. It's important to us that the projects are community collaborations. Please come because whilst It won't be the last opportunity for you to have an input into the programme it's an important moment because it is likely to set the direction.
We start on 9th September with an on line Empty Gallery Conversation to let people know about the outline of our programme and invite ideas and feedback, building on a sounding we held at the end of the play last year. We want to know what you want. It's important to us that the projects are community collaborations. Please come because whilst It won't be the last opportunity for you to have an input into the programme it's an important moment because it is likely to set the direction.
Visit our other Project websites
The Empty Gallery
The Empty Gallery produce collaborative projects between Claque and a local community or group to create a mobile 'interactive theatre-art exhibitions' that reflect the lives, thoughts and ideas of the community who create it. The creators could be the community within a city, town, village, street, an organisation, an 'interest group' or your community or group. Each exhibition varies in content, size, scale and running time depending on the theme, community and location. We start with an empty shop, a village hall, a school, a gazebo, a bus stop, or anywhere at all. Our most recent projects have been The Aldgate Project for the City of London, and The War Time Silhouette for Rusthall Community Arts
Claqueur Impro
If you are interested in learning improvised theatre you can join Claque Impro . These are a core twelve community improvisers who workshop regularly at 7.30pm on Monday nights at the Rusthall Club.although now with the covid pandemic they meet on line using zoom. The workshops are open to all but please enquire first through our contact page. We occasionally hold full day and week end workshops but this is unlikely until later next year. We are also preparing a play for Rusthall and there will be plenty of opportunity for impro, see Paths and Highways above. The workshops are led by Jon Oram, though the group collectively run their own sessions from time to time. They perform five or six times a year. The early show were performed 'games' but in recent years they have been developing long form improvisation. Presently the group is exploring more long form improvisation.
OTHER PAST EVENTS
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