A Year in Shows – 2026
A retrospective on the aims and impact of the Spontaneous Productions 2026 programme of events for children, all the family, and adults.
Sydenham’s Big Cat Safari – August 2026
MAKE A SCENE YOUNG WRITERS’ SHOWCASE: I.R.L. – July 2026
Over two evenings we presented 12 original scripts written by young playwrights aged 18-30, based in SE London. Performed script in hand by a professional cast of Spontaneous ‘regulars’, themes were diverse, intriguing and all the pieces highly entertaining.
6 plays were presented each evening, all approximately 10-15 mins long and with only three days’ rehearsal in total to stage all 12 pieces. Themes included father/son relationships, language censorship, love in the era of Chatbots and AI avatars, the pressures of modern living on young people and even ancient Indian medicine!
A Long Way From Home – Friday 19 June 2026
2-year funding from London Borough of Lewisham enabled us to stage the third in our series of events marking Lewisham’s becoming Borough of Sanctuary. Partnering this time with Compass Collective, we worked with a very small group of mostly younger refugees, who wrote and performed their own true stories of courage and change, in June 2026.
A mix of theatre, storytelling, music, spoken word and poetry – a wide range of stories explored themes including father-son relationships, immigration battles, personal loss, memory, growth and survival.
The PIED PIPER of Sydenhamelin – Saturday 30 May 2026
With 3-year funding from Postcode Society Trust we created the first of two free events in the Summer of 202: a one-off performance of the classic fairytale featuring local families taking part – children playing the rats and parents playing townspeople.
It was wonderful to see so many families attend the free performance, and references to local shops Wellbeing Healthfood shop and Blackbird Bakery got the desired reaction! The finale with everyone singing and dancing to Pharrell’s Happy as the town celebrated a big party won’t soon be forgotten!
Thumbelina: TINY BUT MIGHTY – March 2026
Our first family show of the year was a reimagining of the classic fairy tale, with the heroine transformed into the world’s smallest superhero by magical pollen. Battling a menacing spider, with the help of a hayfever-suffering honeybee, this was a wonderful mash-up of Hans Christian Andersen and the Marvel Universe.
It received some of our most positive audience feedback yet, with many describing it as our best show so far. It incorporated imaginative use of video effects and animation, and with help from Ravensbourne students we had one of the most impressive sets in many years.
Many sell-out performances, with audiences on their feet cheering and dancing at the end.
Many sell-out performances, with audiences on their feet cheering and dancing at the end
Love Bites: Singular Voices Feb 2026
Our first show of 2026 was our 15th regular ‘scratch night’ – presenting new writing by emerging writers, mostly from our ScriptHub scriptwriting workshops. Converting the theatre into a ‘cabaret-style’ space, transported the audience into the world of comic & dramatic monologues on the theme of ‘love and heartbreak’.
It featured a cast of regular Spontaneous regulars, their monologues showcasing stories as diverse as ‘dating while dog-walking’, ‘a tragic time-travel love story in East Germany’ and ‘a widow discovering her late husband’s fetish for dairy products.’