Ed Morris in our original 'Pocket Classic' Henry V - Lion of England, by Nick Hennegan, from the original by William Shakespeare.
What is the Maverick Theatre Company?
Maverick is all about access. New audiences to plays, events, publishing, drama and literature. And new practitioners - actors, writers, directors, backstage and technical. It was launched by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1994. We started producing plays in informal spaces - mainly pubs. Working class writer and founder Nick Hennegan created Maverick's original proposition. "Forget the TV for a night. Don't rent a film. Come down the pub and see a show. It's where it all started. No retakes, no cameras, no going back, just live action with real people right in front of you. Have a pint and a pie and if you don't like it you can have your money back."
Maverick has always been a bit... well... maverick! We've started - fringe pub theatre in Birmingham; accessible Shakespeares in Edinburgh and on tour; AirPlay new radio scripts; the Rocket Writers playwriting group; Urban Writers Retreats; The Maverick Academy; The Maverick Youth Academy; The SpeakEasy Cabaret; Creative Producer Workshops; The Literary Pub Crawls - all designed to increase access to theatre and the performing arts.
Twinned with the mission to create a new theatre-going habit with socially excluded and working-class communities in Birmingham is a desire to include and encourage new artists and technicians nationwide. Many successful theatre professionals have started their careers with the Maverick Theatre Company. We are now working in London and Birmingham and have created the London Literary Pub Crawl - a promenade literary tour of Soho in central London. Our Pocket Classics are allowing new audiences to experience great classic works in an accessible form. And we are running our spoken word nights, theSpeakEasy Cabaret, on the first Saturday of every month, in a pub!
Please get involved.
We'd love to hear from you. About anything, really...!
Maverick thanks West Midlands Arts and Birmingham City Council for previous support. 