The Queen Mother Theatre (The QMT)

The Queen Mother Theatre (The QMT) The QMT is a modern purpose built theatre in the heart of Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Owned and run by The Bancroft Players.

We provide great entertainment throughout the year, including live performance, regular film nights and NTLive. The page of The Queen Mother Theatre - the home of The Bancroft Players, Big Spirit Youth Theatre and The Bancroft Juniors.

TONIGHTNEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENINGMonday 7 September7.30pm at The QMTFancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are a...
07/09/2026

TONIGHT
NEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENING

Monday 7 September
7.30pm at The QMT

Fancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are always looking for people to help in all areas of The QMT.

From costumes, props, serving ice-creams, welcoming our audiences, social media, marketing, sponsorship, working on the bar…you’d be surprised how much goes on at our little theatre.

So if you have a few hours a month and want to get involved Hitchin’s only purpose built theatre and join a community that’s growing every month, then why not come along to our open evening.

It’s a very informal event where we’ll show you around and talk about the many areas you can possibly help out, plus we’ll get to know you a little bit too.

We look forward to seeing you then!

LIVE ONSTAGE. LIVE ONLINE. 🎉 We're very excited to announce our collaborations with the launch of Hitchin Creative's new...
07/09/2026

LIVE ONSTAGE. LIVE ONLINE.

🎉 We're very excited to announce our collaborations with the launch of Hitchin Creative's new Online & IRL season!

Hitchin has an amazing creative community, with brilliant people putting on live music, comedy, theatre, poetry, performance and much more all year round.

Online & IRL is about helping more people discover and experience all that creativity.

Working with Lucid Dream Pictures, Hitchin Creative will be bringing a selection of these fantastic live events to audiences both in the room and online, with professional live broadcasts available FREE to watch.
But this isn't about replacing the live experience — quite the opposite.
We want to encourage people to come along, buy a ticket and be part of the audience, because there's nothing quite like being there. The online experience gives people another way to connect with what's happening in Hitchin — whether they're unable to attend, want to discover something new, or simply want to experience more of what our creative community has to offer.

And for the brilliant event organisers, performers and venues taking part, Online & IRL means an opportunity to reach new audiences, raise the profile of their events and be part of something that celebrates Hitchin's creative scene.

Over the coming months, Hitchin Creative will be bringing you a season of events covering music, comedy, theatre, poetry and more — with each event offering the chance to experience it IRL or online.

We're incredibly excited to see where this takes us and, most importantly, to help shine a light on the fantastic creative people and events that make Hitchin such a vibrant place to live, work and visit.

So, whether you're sitting in the front row, standing at the back of the room, or watching from your sofa...
Live onstage. Live online.

🎟️ Come along.
📺 Tune in.
❤️ Support Hitchin's creative community.

The Online & IRL season starts here.

Visit Hitchin

TONIGHT🎭 OPEN AUDITIONS 🎭The Bancroft Players are casting It’s a Wonderful Life, Mary Elliott Nelson’s warm and joyful a...
07/09/2026

TONIGHT🎭 OPEN AUDITIONS 🎭

The Bancroft Players are casting It’s a Wonderful Life, Mary Elliott Nelson’s warm and joyful adaptation of the much-loved Frank Capra film.

This festive story of love, hope and community has a large cast, with plenty of character roles and playing ages ranging from the 20s to the 70s. Several roles are suitable for any age.

📅 Monday 7 September at 7.45pm
📅 Wednesday 9 September at 7.45pm
📍 Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin

Directed by Yvonne Patterson, the production runs from 7 to 13 December 2026. Rehearsals will usually take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

Scripts are available from the theatre. Find the full cast breakdown and audition details here:

https://qmt.org.uk/audition/its-a-wonderful-life-by-mary-elliott-nelson/

2 WEEKS TO GO:New Writers Stage Play Reading EventFROM PAGE TO STAGE3 plays over 3 nightsBuy a ticket to two shows and s...
05/09/2026

2 WEEKS TO GO:
New Writers Stage Play Reading Event
FROM PAGE TO STAGE

3 plays over 3 nights
Buy a ticket to two shows and see the third one for free.
Each performance is followed by a Q&A with the director and cast.

Saturday 19th September:
GOOD GRIEF by Matt Adie
Inspired by a true story of love, loss and friendship, Good Grief is a brutally honest, powerful and personal account of one man’s attempts to deal with the reality of loss and the ensuing void which threatens to consume him. It is both visceral and funny, often within the same breath. Drawing from his own personal experiences, Adie has undoubtedly laid himself bare and, as a result, the play packs very real and occasionally uncomfortable punches, all served up in a web of dark humour.

Quote from London Theatre1: “In this witty, beautifully written piece, Adie manages to deliver laughs aplenty punctuated by moments of deep and authentic emotional pain, all the while swerving deftly past any hint of mawkish sentimentality.”

ALSO STREAMED LIVE:
This event is part of Hitchin Creative’s Online & IRL programme, bringing live creative events to audiences both in person and online. If you can’t make it to the venue, you’ll be able to watch the event live on the Hitchin Creative YouTube channel. We’d still love to see you there in person, the live atmosphere is always the best way to experience the event.

Book online at qmt.org.uk




Hitchin Creative

Visit Hitchin

2 WEEKS TO GO:New Writers Stage Play Reading EventFROM PAGE TO STAGE3 plays over 3 nightsBuy a ticket to two shows and s...
04/09/2026

2 WEEKS TO GO:
New Writers Stage Play Reading Event
FROM PAGE TO STAGE

3 plays over 3 nights
Buy a ticket to two shows and see the third one for free.
Each performance is followed by a Q&A with the director and cast.

Friday 18th September:
SAFETY in NUMBERS by Adam Francis
Two trainspotters are poised on a platform, eagerly anticipating the arrival of an elusive train. The Z307 will complete their trainspotting book. As they reflect on the enormity of their seemingly banal quest, they need and needle each other, exposing Trainspotter 1’s narcissistic trait of being both the torturer and rescuer of his acquaintance, and Trainspotter 2’s allotted role of victim. As the rumbling of the train tracks grows in frequency, the two men are interrupted by the arrival of a Worker who holds up a figurative mirror to their inadequacies. Defending their honour and purpose, they retaliate, unpicking the Worker’s own insipidity and trivial life. When the Worker protests his importance, it seems that only the arrival of the Z307 can calm the waters. The three of them now wait, too afraid of what lies beyond their platform.

The play scrutinises Man’s desire for independence, power and hierarchy, while exposing our yearning to belong, no matter what the cost.

ALSO STREAMED LIVE:
This event is part of Hitchin Creative’s Online & IRL programme, bringing live creative events to audiences both in person and online. If you can’t make it to the venue, you’ll be able to watch the event live on the Hitchin Creative YouTube channel. We’d still love to see you there in person, the live atmosphere is always the best way to experience the event.

Book online at qmt.org.uk




Hitchin Creative

Visit Hitchin

2 WEEKS TO GO:New Writers Stage Play Reading EventFROM PAGE TO STAGE3 plays over 3 nightsBuy a ticket to two shows and s...
03/09/2026

2 WEEKS TO GO:
New Writers Stage Play Reading Event
FROM PAGE TO STAGE

3 plays over 3 nights
Buy a ticket to two shows and see the third one for free.
Each performance is followed by a Q&A with the director and cast.

Thursday 17th September:
FIRE and RAIN by Martin Hancock
When natural resources are gone, what is the future going to look like? In a world where most of the water in the world has been drawn into the salty oceans, the great rivers gone, the only available water is what you can salvage and recycle from your own body. What would nature make us give up to put things right, and at what cost?

Four Wildfire Fighters find themselves in a strange, unfamiliar place. A message is received by one of their number through their brain-embedded ID Chip. In their world, certain words remain but their meaning has been lost to an incinerating climate, so how should they interpret this view of a very different world? Is the vision seen by one of them showing an open door to a better dimension, or are humans becoming sacrificial lambs to the unforgiving laws of nature?

ALSO STREAMED LIVE:
This event is part of Hitchin Creative’s Online & IRL programme, bringing live creative events to audiences both in person and online. If you can’t make it to the venue, you’ll be able to watch the event live on the Hitchin Creative YouTube channel. We’d still love to see you there in person, the live atmosphere is always the best way to experience the event.

Book online at qmt.org.uk




Hitchin Creative

Visit Hitchin

NEXT WEEKNEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENINGMonday 7 September7.30pm at The QMTFancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are...
30/08/2026

NEXT WEEK
NEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENING

Monday 7 September
7.30pm at The QMT

Fancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are always looking for people to help in all areas of The QMT.

From costumes, props, serving ice-creams, welcoming our audiences, social media, marketing, sponsorship, working on the bar…you’d be surprised how much goes on at our little theatre.

So if you have a few hours a month and want to get involved Hitchin’s only purpose built theatre and join a community that’s growing every month, then why not come along to our open evening.

It’s a very informal event where we’ll show you around and talk about the many areas you can possibly help out, plus we’ll get to know you a little bit too.

We look forward to seeing you then!

🎭 OPEN AUDITIONS 🎭The Bancroft Players are casting It’s a Wonderful Life, Mary Elliott Nelson’s warm and joyful adaptati...
24/08/2026

🎭 OPEN AUDITIONS 🎭

The Bancroft Players are casting It’s a Wonderful Life, Mary Elliott Nelson’s warm and joyful adaptation of the much-loved Frank Capra film.

This festive story of love, hope and community has a large cast, with plenty of character roles and playing ages ranging from the 20s to the 70s. Several roles are suitable for any age.

📅 Monday 7 September at 7.45pm
📅 Wednesday 9 September at 7.45pm
📍 Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin

Directed by Yvonne Patterson, the production runs from 7 to 13 December 2026. Rehearsals will usually take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

Scripts are available from the theatre. Find the full cast breakdown and audition details here:

https://qmt.org.uk/audition/its-a-wonderful-life-by-mary-elliott-nelson/

TONIGHT:SHAKESPEARE'S BIG BROTHERpresented by Big Spirit Youth TheatreTONIGHT: Sunday 23 August at 7.45pmFollowing a wee...
23/08/2026

TONIGHT:
SHAKESPEARE'S BIG BROTHER
presented by Big Spirit Youth Theatre

TONIGHT: Sunday 23 August at 7.45pm

Following a week at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival, Big Spirit are presenting a special ONE NIGHT ONLY performance of Shakespeare's Big Brother by Hugh Roberts.

You’ve had Big Brother! You’ve had Celebrity Big Brother (which is essentially normal Big Brother because you haven’t got a clue who any of them are). And now we give you… Shakespeare’s Big Brother!

Fresh from their run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Big Spirit return for one night only to present this clever and witty reimagining of a classic social experiment featuring Shakespeare’s greatest characters.

History, tragedy and comedy combine to create Hugh Roberts fast-paced play that drags 400 year old characters into a modern day setting. To see or not to see? Not even a question!

Book now!

Limited availability!


Spirit Youth Theatre

TWO WEEKSNEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENINGMonday 7 September7.30pm at The QMTFancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are...
23/08/2026

TWO WEEKS
NEW MEMBERS OPEN EVENING

Monday 7 September
7.30pm at The QMT

Fancy getting involved in your local theatre? We are always looking for people to help in all areas of The QMT.

From costumes, props, serving ice-creams, welcoming our audiences, social media, marketing, sponsorship, working on the bar…you’d be surprised how much goes on at our little theatre.

So if you have a few hours a month and want to get involved Hitchin’s only purpose built theatre and join a community that’s growing every month, then why not come along to our open evening.

It’s a very informal event where we’ll show you around and talk about the many areas you can possibly help out, plus we’ll get to know you a little bit too.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Address

Woodside, Walsworth Road
Hitchin
SG49SP

Website

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