About the Group

Laugh Out Loud Theatre are a non-profit theatre company whose aim is to bring theatre back into the community within the county for everyone to enjoy. They want to make theatre affordable and accessible to all. Their shows are designed and written to maximise audience engagement and participation. They want the community to feel a part of the work they create.

Support required

Laugh Out Loud Theatre required funding to enable them to write and perform a new 30 minute family friendly play for the Queen’s Jubilee which included real stories from the local community and celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s Reign with a focus on how she actively engages with people on a personal level.

Laugh Out Loud Theatre wanted the performance to be packed with fun, joy and nostalgia to appeal to all ages and help bring back some solidarity into the local community which has been affected by the pandemic over the last two years. They wanted the play to be performed outside to ensure it was more accessible to those who are still uncomfortable going into a more traditional theatre space. They also wanted the piece to be performed across the county in various parishes over the June Bank Holiday weekend as a free event for the public which would allow those from low income homes to access the show.

What was achieved through the grant

Laugh Out Loud Theatre performed the brand new 30-minute piece of theatre entitled 'Her Majesty's Shoes' in four venues across Northamptonshire - Kettering Arts Centre, Irthlingborough Community Centre, Stanwick Village Hall and Quinton Village Hall. The show involved five stories about the Queen that were given to them by members of our local community. There were four professional actors involved in the cast and a volunteer technician for each show. The cast encouraged members of the audience up on stage at certain points throughout the show to perform alongside them.

The show was very well received by those who came to watch and appealed to more than just the usual theatre goers and perhaps introduced the notion of theatre and acting to a new generation of children who would not have had the opportunity to see theatre or be involved with it otherwise.

Because the show was 30-minutes in length, free to the public and performed in outdoor spaces, it was accessible for all. People with learning difficulties, such as ADHD or Autism, were able to get involved without it being too overwhelming. The production brought back a lot of memories for our older audience members, and it was a celebration of nostalgia which really resonated with people both young and old.

The first (premiere) show at Kettering Arts Centre was filmed for people who could not attend any of the shows in person and this can be viewed for free on their YouTube channel: 'Her Majesty's Shoes' live performance. - YouTube