Stratford East

“A first visit to see "Here There Are Blueberries". The theatre marked 140 years in 2025. in recent years revitalized by the life and work of Dame Joan Littlewod who is immortalized in sculpture sitting on a pile of bricks just outside. The inspiration photo hangs in the bar. All staff where very friendly and helpful from box office, bar, front of house and others. I think it's a card only venue. The play Here There Are Blueberries follows the inclusion of a personal war photo album by the New York Holocaust Memorial Museum. The challenge being the album had no victims of the Final Solution and focused on a career seeking SS official, who happened to be posted to Auschwitz. The moral struggle being should a museum seeking to humanise the victims of the SS and Nazis do likewise to those who oversaw the programme? The decision to include, demonstrated the utter ordinariness of those who administered the camps. Showing that evil is not necessarily only done by those we label as evil or deranged but by chicken farmers, accountants and bank clerks. One should see the play. It is presented over 90 minutes, setting out that even as The Red Army was advancing through occupied Russia and Poland, that someone managing evil, wanted to record his life away from home and in doing so demonstrates that there is a thin veneer between evil and good. At least that is some of what i took away.”

“Amazing Theatre full of character and what a lovely diverse, mixed age, & friendly audience. I got chatting to a wonderful lady at half time who travelled from Birmingham to this Theatre to see the show ‘The harder they come’ it was amazing full of professionalism, uplifting music, dancing, amazing acting, wonderful orchestra & if u haven’t got a celebration or excuse to come then make one as its a wonderful theatre & a great remedy for the winter blues easy to get to as its a stone throw from Stratford tube and i discovered the shopping centre opposite Westfield which was much cheaper & really fun to discover too. The Theatre has its own Caribbean restaurant which looked amazing. Every actor looked like they loved their job and their energy and enthusiasm rubbed off on the audience who were all up dancing at the finale. Check their website for shows to create happy memories its a really lovely Theatre 😊”

“Visited Stratford East to watch the musical The Harder They Come - the production was phenomenal! Highly recommend you visit the show while it's still on. Be quick, seats are selling quickly! Easy to access the building, there wasn't a long wait to get in. Staff were helpful. Area is well lit and has some parking spaces - first come, first served! Easy transport links to the area too. Plus suitable stopping space for Ubers to collect passengers.”

“Great atmosphere and laughs at the Theatre Royal watching the pantomime about Mama Goose. Lovely friendly staff at the bar and the ushers were patient and helpful, assisting where necessary if you had a disability. This is a really nice, comfortable theatre that serves the community well and has a wide variety of regular performances at a reasonable price.”