Welcome to the Earl’s Court Community Trust
Creating, connecting and building our community through the arts.
AUDITIONS
NOW OPEN
Launching our National Theatre Connection Play for 2024
Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. The programme is 30 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK.
This year we will be performing a brand new play written for connections by the very talented Vicky Donoghue. Set in One Tree Hill, Landon Hills, Essex a well known haunted woodland, where it is believed that you may encounter ghost children from an old Tuberculosis sanatorium.
In the play seven students from a Pupil Referral group are made to go orienteering in what they discover is England’s most haunted woods. Stalked by eery ghost
children determined to keep them there forever, they must learn to confront the here and now to unlock the key to their futures.
We selected this play as we would like to challenge our young actors to experience life in someone else’s shoes and transport you to a different time, place and emotional landscape. Each role has its own backstory and this will be a great opportunity for you to unpick and develop a character role for the stage.
We would like to keep the casting options for Fresh Air as open as possible and the role can be played by actors of any gender or ethnicity and or disability
Upcoming Shows
Step into the Earls Courtiers Cabaret Night!
Join us for an unforgettable evening of glitz, glamour, and show-stopping entertainment at our Cabaret Night, inspired by the iconic Kit Kat Club with an Earl's Courtiers twist.
Arrive at 6:30 PM for a welcome drink—a complimentary glass of wine or beer—paired with an array of delectable canapés. The venue will be transformed into an immersive cabaret experience, where informal seating and a vibrant atmosphere will get you ready for a night of fun and indulgence.
The show begins at 7:30 PM, featuring electrifying performances that will transport you into a world of elegance and playful decadence. During the interval, don’t miss the chance to take part in an exclusive auction, with exciting prizes up for grabs (details to be revealed soon!).
And for an extra treat, we’ll be serving a signature cabaret-themed cocktail.
Dress to impress— Whether you're a starlet or a suave gent, cocktail dresses, black tie, and all the glamour of the Ref Felix Kat Club.
Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind experience - book your tickets now and get ready for a night of cabaret fun!
Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. The programme is 30 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK.
Last year we took part in this fantastic festival and we all had such a fantastic time and we are all definitely up for a repeat!
We are very excited to announce that this year’s play is called Fresh air by Vickie Donoghue. The play will be directed by Mariela Manso and supported by Inge Marks.
Auditions info is
This play is one of 10 plays that have been commissioned by the National Theatre specifically for Connections Festival 2024/25.
Vickie Donoghue is a writer from Essex working across stage, screen and radio. Her plays include Mudlarks at The Bush Theatre; Tender – Loving Care at the New Theatre Royal Portsmouth; Aperture at the Royal Court Theatre; The Path at the HighTide Festival; The Electric for Paines Plough and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; The Witch Finder’s Sister and The Flood at The Queens Theatre, Hornchurch; The Gift for BBC Radio 4; The Piper, a 10 part Podcast drama co-written with Natalie Mitchell for BBC Sounds.
Vickie was an Associate Artist at The Mercury Theatre and a Paines Plough playwright Fellow. She was longlisted for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards as Most Promising New Playwright and was shortlisted for the Royal National Theatre Foundation Playwright Award.
Where it all began…
Earl’s Court used to be a very transient, inner city area where neighbours passed each other by without a glance. Toby Brown, Keith Clancey, Jennifer Ware and a few locals decided to change all that and created our charity, The Earl’s Court Community Trust.
The trust has grown over the years and our annual projects include a hugely successful film festival, multiple theatre productions and garden concerts as well as open air film screenings for the community to enjoy.
The Earl’s Courtiers have been performing since 2012. We have numerous theatre projects on the go and are extremely lucky to have a very talented creative team. Toby Brown, Kristen Gaetz-Riva, Mariela Manso and Inge Marks regularly produce and direct sell out shows in the local gardens, pubs and church halls.
This has made a huge difference to our local community in particular families who get an opportunity to be part of our summer show or come along and enjoy the classics, everything from Shakespeare to well known musicals.
In 2014 Caroline Tod-Richardson, Sean Duffy and Toby Brown founded the Earl’s Court International Film Festival. Since then they have helped to make numerous highly successful short films, many of which have gone on to win highly acclaimed Film Festival Awards. Attendance at the festivals continues to grow year on year and it’s another highlight in the local communities social calendar.
We are always finding great ways to connect with the local community through our programme of garden concerts, special celebratory sports and cultural events, Christmas carol concerts. We look forward to seeing you at one of our events very soon!
How you can help…
As an arts charity, we rely on donations, grants and the good will in our community. We are extremely fortunate to have a team of very talented people who offer their time and energy to our creative projects for free, but there are unavoidable costs.
Renting rehearsal space, costumes, props, staging, musical direction, licencing and live bands at our shows, are just some of the costs needed to put on these productions. A donation of any kind will not only help fund our next creative project but keep the work of The Community Trust, its projects and the people who have come to love and rely on it so much going.
Our hope is to one day have enough funding to find a permanent home, a theatre, which will be a flexible space to be used by everyone in our community.
Meet our Trustees and Management Board
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Toby Brown
ECCT CHAIR MAN & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
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Caroline Tod-Richardson
FILM FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
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Inge Marks
ECCT TRUSTEE & COMPANY MANAGER
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Mariela Manso
ECCT TRUSTEE & GRANTS OFFICER
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Anthony Marraccino
ECCT TREASURER & CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER
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Emily South
EVENTS AND MARKETING MANAGER
Thank You to our
Donors and Sponsors
Contact Us
We are always looking for local talent, volunteers, and those in our community with creative ideas or a passion for the arts!
Please get in touch- we would love to hear from you!