Local Eastenders’ actor brings ‘Made in Southend’ theatre shows to the Palace Theatre

May 29, 2024

Westcliff-based Dickens Theatre Company has joined forces with the Palace Theatre on London Road to launch three seasons of theatre shows ‘Made in Southend’.

Producer, Actor and Westcliff resident, Ryan Philpott has long harboured the ambition to perform with his company at his home theatre.

Dickens Theatre Company have a national reputation for producing first-class shows, based on ‘curriculum texts’ under the banner ‘Revision on Tour’, including classics such as Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and Jekyll and Hyde. This work has visited theatres across the UK, but never in Southend – until now! Alongside this work, Philpott creates new shows and will be bringing a world premiere to the Dixon Studio this September.

Occasional Eastenders Actor, Ryan Philpott commented:

‘The Palace Theatre is a very special place for the Philpott family. I have spent so much of my life there, initially as an awe-struck kid watching shows with my parents in the 1980s and 1990s. Then as a teenager I performed with Southend Shakespeare Company in the Dixon Studio and I knew then that I wanted to be a professional actor. After training at LAMDA, I performed in rep at the Palace. Since we set up Dickens Theatre Company in 2015 it has been my ambition to bring our shows to Westcliff - and here we are, about to embark on a very exciting programme of classic literature stage adaptations, all ‘Made in Southend’.’

Nick Parr, Theatre Director at the Palace Theatre and the Cliffs Pavilion added: ‘I have known Ryan for a few years and we bonded during the pandemic over our ambition to see quality work that would take year 10 and 11 students into their local theatres to experience on stage the classic texts they were studying. When I joined Southend Theatres last year, Ryan was one of the first people I called. I am delighted that we can announce these three seasons of work at the Palace.’

Dickens Theatre Company and the Palace Theatre will present:

Charles Dickens: The Readings and The Rumours

Written and Performed by Ryan Philpott

Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 October 2024

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott with music by Paul Higgs

Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 November 2024

Revision on Tour: Macbeth

by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott with music by Paul Higgs

Monday 10 to Tuesday 11 February 2025

Revision on Tour: Jekyll & Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott with music by Paul Higgs

Wednesday 12 February 2025