Departure Lounge 2022

Thu 14 – Sat 16 Jul, 2022

In Good Company and Derby Theatre’s hugely successful summer festival of cool, contemporary and cutting edge theatre returns for a terrific 10th year!

The highly acclaimed collection of innovative performances and discussion will once again provide the perfect theatrical vacation for artists and audiences alike.

Departure Lounge 2022 will provide a platform for:

The most exciting theatre companies and artists from our Midlands home-base
New work from Derby Theatre’s Associate Artists
Workshops with leading industry professionals
The return of the ever-popular panel discussion, hosted by theatre critic and writer, Lyn Gardner

Upcoming Events

The Endling

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

Visually beautiful and “laugh-out loud funny”, Strange Futures use off-beat humour and "powerful physicality" to discuss the environmental crisis and species extinction.

Fat Blokes

Thu 14 – Fri 15 Jul, 2022

Fat Blokes is the cult, award winning, sell out, sort of dance show about trying to fit into a world that says you’re too fat.

Boogie Booth

Thu 14 - Sat 16 July, 2022

Boogie Booth is a live performance and dance experience. Will you jump onto the Disco Dot and show us what you’ve got?

Find out more Book now

Panel Discussion: Survival, Resilience, Well-being & Self-Care

Thu 9 Jun – Wed 9 Nov, 2022

An optimistic conversation about using theatre and all the tools we have available to make things better for all.

A Beginner’s Guide to Widowhood

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

A Beginner’s Guide to Widowhood is a one-woman (work-in-progress) show exploring the experiences of young, widowed women, loss, and why we don't talk about death.

Shooting the Elephant: An Intersectional Approach to Inclusive Narrative

Fri 15 Jul, 2022

A workshop with Simon Startin, artistic director of Vital Exposure - a disabled-led touring theatre company that promotes hidden voices…

Flappy

Fri 15 July 2022

Flappy is an autobiographical show developed and performed by Holly Clark. It explores what Dyspraxia is and what it means to be Holly.

Ambivalence

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

Making decisions can be difficult. Especially if the decision is to stay alive.

Scratch Night (DL 2022)

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

A work-in-progress showcase of three new performances: 5 Years by Hayley Davis, Ace by Emma Bourke and Retro Feva 80s by Rebecca Muir.

Making Theatre Sustainable Workshop with Pigfoot Theatre

Wed 14 Jun, 2023

Join Pigfoot – a multi award-winning carbon-neutral theatre company – for a practical workshop for any theatre-maker keen to create…

Utopian (T&C’s Apply)

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

UTOPIAN (t's&c’s apply) is a surrealistic circus pop-culture queer positive experience. And it’s absolute trash.

Bonfire (Work in Progress)

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

Through pop music, movement & playful storytelling, ‘Bonfire’ is a monologue-megamix on reclaiming queer identity and resisting shame.

The Cocoa Butter Club: Queer Cabaret

Fri 28 Oct, 2022

The Cocoa Butter Club presents a one-off Queer Cabaret celebrating everything from neo-burlesque and poetry, to drag, hoops and voguing.