Important Covid-19 Information

Important COVID-19 Information. As of Wednesday 16 December 2020, Redbridge Drama Centre will be closed until further notice. This is to allow for some essential maintenance works to be undertaken in readiness for the change of use to a co-operative business that will deliver public and private hire theatre and training facilities. These works are being funded by Havering Council and partners, with advice from the London Performing Arts Catalyst (LPAC). It is expected that there will be some disruption to normal activities and it could result in the need for some events programmed previously to take place at other venues.

We will do our best to minimise any inconvenience this causes and hope that you can understand the work needs doing sooner rather than later, This Is Redbridge (thisisredbridge.org). Our landlord, the Council of the London Borough of Redbridge (known as Redbridge Council), has served a section 21 notice that will close Redbridge Drama Centre in 2020. This means that, if we do not renew our lease or find another suitable building, both our rehearsing and teaching spaces will be gone forever.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham College (LBB&DC) has announced it will withdraw funding for COVID-19 from Wednesday 16 December 2020. This is a devastating and outrageous decision with no notice given to the school or its students / staff and without any proper reasoning behind it. This is to inform our members, parents and students that as of Wednesday 16 December 2020, Redbridge Drama Centre will be closed until further notice. At 18.

About The Centre

We are located on the ground floor of the Redbridge Social Services Centre, opposite the new Woodford Library. Our unique and purpose built Studio Ground was funded by a Local Area Agreement grant from the Department of Education in 2002 and has been re-developed in 2005-2006 to include retractable seating to accommodate both full scale productions and other activities. The theatre is now fully accessible for wheelchairs, with additional sensory equipment available for performances. We have excellent facilities including a Green Room, three dressing rooms, hair & make-up room, generous rehearsal spaces and an extensive resources base including screening and rehearsal equipment.

Red Bridge Drama Centre is a local charity based in High Road, South Woodford. Our aim is to promote the performing arts and to provide an inspiring, creative environment for people of all ages. This work is all made possible by the stunning hard work and dedication of our talented young volunteers, many of whom go on to forge great careers in theatre, music or television. We are also supported by volunteer tutors who we recruit from local secondary schools.

Jim Stopforth became the Artistic Director in March 2008, having been a Governor of the Centre since 2003. His early years working in drama were in youth theatres in Redditch and Oxford. In 2000 he was appointed Artistic Director of Newbury Hall Theatre School where he led the school for ten years. This followed three years as Assistant Director at National Youth Theatre where he also directed and designed for BBC Television Drama. The Redbridge Drama Centre runs a series of theatre courses and workshops each week.

These range from acting to singing, and give people of all ages the chance to develop their performance skills. Also, there is an active drama group which meets once a month to perform plays for the local community and other events. The Drama Centre has been awarded by Arts Council England a Bursary Award, which will fund our new programme. Drama is a great way for everyone to develop creatively to express themselves. We have lots of activities which give you the chance to explore acting, storytelling and filmmaking.

Some are creative workshops and some are classes in which you can learn how to do something, like becoming a popper, all of them are fun! And if you want to be an actor or filmmaker in the future we have courses for that too. 00hrs on Wednesday 16th December 2020, COVID-19 will be closed due to the fumigation of the building. If you love sports, you have many opportunities to enjoy your favourite sport as well as study for a sports related qualification with us.

Covid Guidance & Updates

It is an exciting time for Covid as they launch their new Creative Learning Centre. Renovations will create a new space to develop the students'creativity, give them a performance space to put on productions, as well as increase their digital and IT skills to keep up with the changing world of entertainment. In order to provide this, Covid need funding to help transform Redbridge Drama Centre into The Creative Learning Centre. Covid helps you convert your ideas into action then gives you the skills to realise your ambitions.

We offer courses, workshops and mentoring to help you practice, enjoy and progress. At our studios in Ilford, Redbridge, we house a 200 capacity theatre, podcast studio, film sound stage, lighting and stage effects workshop and tea bar. Over the course of the next twelve months we have a very exciting programme of productions and events taking place on our stages in South Woodford. As Covent Garden prepares to welcome the public once again with its programme of entertainment, so does the Redbridge Drama Centre.

Online Activities

Redbridge Drama Centre is an almost 40-year-old charity, which specialises in providing creative opportunities for all ages and abilities. We run every aspect of theatre, music and dance, from classes and workshops to performances. Our aim is to inspire young people through the performing arts, but also to support new talents emerging into the profession. In the past year we have created theatre work for schools in Redbridge, provided dance opportunities for blind and young disabled children, worked with young offenders in prison to create short film clips on youth violence and organised a pilot project involving several schools for drama as the core subject.

This has involved arranging transport between schools and across boroughs as well as liaising with teachers who would be developing their own new topics. Redbridge Drama Centre is a 'Centre for All Ages'. Since it opened in 1977, the centre has grown and developed to become a major influence on the cultural life of the borough, encouraging audiences to enjoy and participate in drama. Theatre at all levels is performed at REDbridge Drama Centre from Beginners and Improvers classes through intermediate level works to professional productions, such as its annual pantomime.

In addition, evening drama groups use the hall for their rehearsals. Redbridge Drama Centre is a dynamic arts organisation, committed to putting on exciting and creative performances for young people in the Borough. Throughout the year we run term-time drama clubs and holiday workshops – as well as offering classes for over 50s, low cost early years theatre training and staging a series of community events exploring different facets of theatre. The majority of our courses are free.