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Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds Productions
“In 2021, in the aftermath of the pandemic lockdowns, we wrote an artistic strategy that aimed to gradually lead us from new adaptations of classic stories, to revivals of plays from the past 10 years, to original plays written by high-profile writers and finally arriving at original plays by early-career playwrights; all in the space of four years.” – Artistic Director, Owen Calvert-Lyons
As champions of East Anglian writers, we are delighted to be supported by our Commissioning Circle and our Producing Circle, who have enabled us to produce four new plays since 2022.
We produced Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds’ first promenade production, Steve And Steff For Ever by Ian Jarvis, with the support of our Commissioning Circle. It delighted local audiences running for the entire month of August 2025 receiving rave reviews.
With 20% of all casting drawn from our region, we are proud to support talent from Suffolk and East Anglia, ensuring that we continue to support our regional arts ecology. Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds plays a vital role in supporting freelance artists to live and work in Suffolk and the local area.
Our Spring production is available to tour each year. If you are interested in bringing a TRBSE production to your venue, please get in touch with Zoe Fox at [email protected].
Steve And Steff For Ever by Ian Jarvis (2025)
A Tryal Of Witches (2025)
In 2025, we staged A Tryal Of Witches (2025) by Tallulah Brown – a story of suspicion, misogyny and women all charged by our town and county’s dark history of ‘witchcraft’. We developed the play alongside Tallulah Brown over two years, with the help of National Theatre’s Generate programme, and our fantastic cast performed for two weeks to sold-out audiences in Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.
“an enthralling memorial to Suffolk’s persecuted women…”
★★★★ – The Guardian
Richard, My Richard (2024)
Alongside Shakespeare North Playhouse, we co-produced Richard, My Richard (2024) written by leading historical fiction author Philippa Gregory. This was Philippa’s first play centring around Richard the Third’s monumental discovery in a Leicester Car park and a re-imagining of his life, all based on heavily researched history. To stage this world-premiere production, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds was transformed ‘into the round’ for the first time in 14 years.
“The play offers a new spin on a man and a story that we think we know, observing that history favours the winners and leaves no room for grey.”
★★★ – The Stage
The Children (2023)
Our 2023 production of The Children by Luck Kirkwood presented audiences with a rich and thought-provoking play exploring climate change and social responsibility, and which made demands of its audience. Starring Imogen Stubbs, Gillian Bevan and Michael Higgs, this post-apocalyptic drama continued to draw returning audiences back to the theatre.
“The in-house production directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons is very deftly done – an nice easy pace which builds into gripping drama.”
Home, I’m Darling (2022)
Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade saw a cast of six take to the stage for this entertaining and intelligent play. Praised for their performances were Rosanna Miles, Toby Manley, Kerry Bennett, Charles Haggarty, Ellie Burrows and Hilary Harwood. The production saw beautiful and intricate choreography from Julia Cave and 21st-century-style lighting from Martha Godfrey.
“Directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons, it sparkles with talented performances while intelligently exploring the troubling distance between the issues at the heart of the feminist movement and the forgetfulness of modern women.”
★★★★ – The Stage
Community Productions
Our annual community productions (Goodnight Mister Tom (2018), Pride and Prejudice (2019), Holes (2021), The Secret Garden (2022), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2023) and Dorothy, Back In Oz (2024)), provide unique opportunities for local young people and community members to perform alongside professional actors in high-quality productions.
This summer, our Creative Learning team are producing Sword In The Stone, written by Eilish Mullane, produced by Emma Thorpe and directed by David Whitney. The cast is made up of local young people aged 11-18 who auditioned earlier in 2025 to be part of the production and Summer School in which they’ll play a part in the play, learn about theatre techniques, rehearse, develop their skills and meet new people.
Our in-house pantomime is legendary, attracting 25,000 audiences each year and delighting generations of theatergoers.
Dorothy, Back In Oz (2024)