Certain Curtain Theatre Company

A professional touring company whose ground breaking work has been acclaimed by audiences across the country. Producing exciting, innovative theatre, challenging pre-conceived ideas with dynamic originality… from the page to the stage. Its aim is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking, original theatre for everyone.

Since 1989, the company has written and produced plays with themes as diverse as Football, Teenage pregnancy, The Holocaust, Gun-crime, Social History, Diabetes, Accident prevention, Reminiscence, Domestic Violence and much more. The company has performed its work in 800-seat theatres, studio theatres, schools, colleges, hospitals, community centres, old peoples homes, a police station and even a corridor!

Who are we?

Claire Moore and John Woudberg established the company in 1989, in the belief that, at any one time, there are already more than enough companies presenting established plays. Whilst many of these plays have been a great source of inspiration to us, we believe that new writing is the lifeblood of theatre and needs to be encouraged and supported. New writing is all we want to produce. Although we have written and produced many issue-based plays, we firmly believe that any play should be able to stand on its own merits - as a play. Regardless of the issues it addresses any new play should bear all the hallmarks of good drama, strong characterisation, plot and a good storyline - and above all - be entertaining!

We aim to take the harsh, raw elements of life and language, mix them with a startling lyrical flavour and add a touch of attitude, to create something new, edgy and hopefully daring and dangerous - to give people what they don't expect! We are a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and operate without any revenue funding. Much of the company's work is a result of recommendation from previous successes.

If you would like to support the company in any way please email us

Our Artistic Policy

To recognise that new-writing is the lifeblood of theatre. To write, produce and deliver new, exciting and relevant work and only that.

To create a fusion of classical and modern influences, ignited and transformed by our own, unique touch. To combine the raw, harsh, brutal, obscene, wicked and cruel with the beautiful, high and noble. To recognise that language is the basic currency of theatre - language that carries action. To release the power of 'the word'.

To forge language into gutter-music, sacred and profane, low-down-dirty, lyrical, high and pure. To create a vibe more akin to rock n' roll, than champagne and caviar, wine and cheese. To make it jump and jive, not languish in stale drawing-rooms, permeated by the stink of cats.

To make actors want to get up and move. To revel in rhythm and rhyme then smash it all to pieces. To use language to startle, sicken and insult - to soothe and inspire, to move. To love both heroes and villains and to treat these two impostors both the same. To re-energise, re-clothe old myths. To create new myths.

To engineer encounters with the monstrous and divine and to treat these two impostors both the same. To realise we are insane, that what we do is insane and that we perform to the Insane.

To tell good stories. Never to bore ourselves or others. To make theatre-going feel like a pleasurable necessity rather than a duty.

 

Contact us to ask any further questions