WHO WE ARE
Our Story
McQueens theatre is a community based black box studio theatre that serves grassroots organisations and localised theatre.
All profits from the hire of the theatre supports our work with young people and community initiatives.
This is a dynamic space that can be set up to suit your needs. We cater to a wide variety of events from theatre performances, live music, educational workshops, conferences, AGMs and film screenings.
The venue can seat up to 100 people and is licensed 7 days a week from 9am to 11pm (a late license is available upon request).
Located 5 minutes from Wood Green Underground Station situated at the back of our onsite vegan restaurant/bar MAAD. We do offer catering for events so please make an enquiry.
McQueens Theatre is a space for nurturing creative talent. We think this can be summed up by a Maya Angelou quote. “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but we rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
The name McQueen is associated with creativity at the highest level and we acknowledge all of these talents. However, you will see that the 'ee’s are in the shape of a butterfly. Thelma or Butterfly McQueen was famously Prissy the maid in Gone with the Wind and a great many other films and classic television too. She was unable to attend the 1939 film premiere because it was screened in a whites-only cinema. She later earned an Emmy for outstanding achievement in children’s television. There are other McQueens, Stephen Rodney McQueen, the British film writer, director and producer who won both the Turner Prize and an Oscar for Twelve Years A Slave. Steve McQueen, the heartthrob antihero of 60s counterculture cinema. London’s own working class, groundbreaking fashion designer Alexander McQueen. And for the pre-schoolers and parents Lightning McQueen… Each has a nod to the work of Collage Arts.
As we worked to finalise the design of the McQueens logo, we looked for the right type face. We wanted something new and fresh. We came across the perfect font. It is new, it is designed in London and it is called Biko. That seemed to be the perfect choice.
So, when you see the logo going up around Wood Green – think of the inspirational people we have referenced in a very simple image and two words.
The power of words and images can convey so much. In a time when racism is being rebranded as Alt Right and popularist. Collage Arts will continue to explore how we can use creativity to challenge the narratives that come forward from these groups. One of our newest projects sees us working with partners across Europe to explore ways of challenging cyber bullying – through what we are calling Hate Interruption Teams. Look out for the creative ways young people address this issue.
Collage Arts has been putting creativity into the heart of Wood Green since 1985 and plans to do so for many years to come.
We seek to harness the power of the borough's creative communities to solve some of the challenges that we collectively face. We do that by providing spaces where creativity can thrive, through sharing skills across generations and communities, developing opportunities where creativity can be unleashed and sharing work that opens our minds. All profits from the hire of the theatre will contribute to this goal.