Anglia Ruskin Community Theatre
The Anglia Ruskin Community Theatre Company works with industry professionals and community organisations to create and deliver top quality theatre projects, driven by a belief in social justice and arts for all.
All our BA (Hons) Drama (including joint hons with Film or English Literature), BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Musical Theatre students have the opportunity to audition to perform with the company, or volunteer as assistant directors, producers or technical crew. Each project is distinct, but always involves external partners and aims to prepare our students for work in the fields of applied theatre, teaching, charity, the health and therapies sector, and the creative industries in general.
For more information, please email Artistic Director Heather Lilley (Course Leader, Drama; University Teaching Fellow).
Current projects
It’s a Drama Thing– Festival of Performance May 2023
Drama, Drama & Film and Drama & English third year students are developing an outreach programme to accompany their final productions at The Mumford Theatre and Town & Gown Pub Theatre.
Great Abington Primary School – Outdoor Promenade Performances April 2023.
Shakespeare Secondary School’s Taster Days – Performances and Workshops April 2023.
Past projects
Haverhill Halloween Trail - Collaboration with Oblique Arts October 2022
Students from our Drama and Acting degrees performed in this spooky outdoor spectacular – Alice in Wonderland as you’ve never seen it before.
Through the Pages – year long co-creation project with Cambourne Community College Sept-June 2021
Third year Drama students worked closely with Year 9 drama pupils to create an original work including some of their favourite book characters.
The Jewel of Power, Whatever Next and Bea and the Space Dragon – Great Abington Primary School April 2022
Three devised performances and drama workshops for Key Stage 1 and 2, created and led by Drama, Drama & English and Drama & Film second years.
Wanderers: California 1936 to Calais 2021 at Cambourne Community College 2021
TIE performance of a newly devised piece exploring historical and contemporary instances of migration inspired by learning on the GCSE English curriculum.
Reminiscence Theatre project (2019)
Our second project with School Court Sheltered Housing Unit to create an original musical piece based on residents’ memories of growing up in the '40s and '50s including the debut of ARU’s Showstoppers Musical Theatre Choir.
An Inspector Calls Theatre-in-Education project – North Cambs Academy (2019)
We created an interactive performance of Priestley’s An Inspector Calls for GCSE students at North Cambridge Academy, bringing Priestley’s text to life, and offering glimpses of the play’s unseen heroine and the social conditions contributing to her tragic suicide.
Memories from School Court (2018)
Reminiscence theatre project in partnership with elderly residents from School Court Sheltered Housing Unit.
Innovations in Assessment for Drama, Performing Arts and Musical Theatre (2018)
Applied Puppetry and Forum Theatre project for a national symposium, in partnership with Middlesex University Theatre Arts students and Lecturer, Charlotte Thompson.
Michael Recycles (2017)
Theatre in Education Primary School Tour in partnership with East Cambridgeshire District Council and Matthew Townshend Productions. You can read more about this project in Laura Mackie's blog.
