The Cockpit

Another of our shows at the 2026 Camden Fringe. This one? A New-Old Roman comedy!

OH PSEUDOLUS!

A modern retelling of the classic Roman Comedy “Pseudolus” by Plautus.

5 - 6 August

In this version, we find the titular Pseudolus working at the world’s largest Halloumi company, in modern-day Athens. She is an executive assistant for the CEO’s son, Calidorous. Calidorous has finally gotten himself the girl of his dreams, the beautiful Phoenecium. Still, disaster strikes when the vile pimp Ballio tries to sell her into s*x slavery, attempting to ship her off to some unnamed oil-rich country. Calidorous is too heartbroken to sign Pseudolus’ end-of-year bonus check. It becomes up to her to figure out a way to rescue Phoenecium in order to make him smile. That way, he can finally sign her hard-earned check. Talk about late-stage capitalism!

This is a laugh-out-loud comedy, full of hijinks, tricks, love, lies, and schemes; not to mention a slice of Halloumi or two along the way. It’s just as much of a hilarious romp as it was two thousand years ago!

Produced by "Oh No Productions" as part of The Camden Fringe

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/oh_pseudolus

We're heading back to Shoreditch Town Hall for this annual gathering of artists, venues and organisations.

STAMP CONNECTS 2026

2 July

Join us for STAMP Connects at Shoreditch Town Hall - an afternoon for artists and organisations alike to come together for useful panel talks, open conversations and networking.

This is an opportunity to tell venues and organisations what you think and what you need – and to gain an understanding of how those organisations and venues can support you and your work.

Organisations taking part in the marketplace this year include artsdepot, Camden People's Theatre, The Cockpit, Hackney Empire, New Earth Theatre, Pleasance, Riverside Studios, Theatre Deli, Shoreditch Town Hall, with more to be added soon.

See you there? We hope so!

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/class/stamp_connects_2026

Introducing another of our 2026 Camden Fringe shows.

DÜNYADA

3 - 9 August

A man arrives with a suitcase, a camera, and a voice that seems sad somehow. He speaks of homeland, parents, lost loves, and strange customs...

This August, internationally acclaimed actor and director Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu brings his visceral, high-intensity solo performance Dünyada to Camden Fringe. Reimagining Will Eno’s celebrated monologue Title and Deed, the production arrives in London fresh from Istanbul’s underground theatre scene, offering an evocative exploration of migration, identity drift, and the fragile necessity of being witnessed in a digital age.

Dünyada, meaning “in the world”, is a formally adventurous solo theatre that tears the fabric of one-person play through cinematic camera work, visual extension and sound design. Nuroğlu performs a dual role as both actor and live cinematographer, walking the thin line between the mundane duties of keeping things going and the emotional disorder of remembering (like all of us). In a raw, technical struggle, he manages lighting and soundscapes in real-time, creating a parallax between his physical body and his digital ghost.

The production transforms the audience from mere spectators into active material, as the camera turns to film the watchers, projecting their silent presence into the heart of the monologue.

Intimate, funny, unsettling, and deeply, deeply human.

Dünyada. A salute to the progress in life, to being here, now, right now. On stage.

Produced by Vertov Film Theatre as part of The Camden Fringe

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/d%C3%BCnyada

“A phenomenal piece of theatre, perfectly encapsulating humanity and connection.” -Adventures in Theatreland

TRANSIT

An Evocative Show About Migration by Halfpace Theatre

22 - 26 July

An award-winning, genre-bending investigation of identity, belonging and migration. Told through a series of vignettes utilising physical theatre, multilingual performance, poetry, dance, multimedia, practical lights and music, Transit delicately navigates the feeling of being ‘too foreign for here, too foreign for home.’

From the endless cycle of unpacking and repacking to wondering when you can stop being considered 'a foreigner' to building community and hope amid uncertainty, this deeply human piece is a love letter to anyone who has ever moved away from home.

Based on true stories gathered from migrants across the UK, Transit asks: what does it mean to settle in the space between languages, cultures and identities?

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/transit_

The Camden Fringe is now on sale!

Allow us to introduce all 24 shows playing in our auditorium throughout August.

THE WRITING OF STONES

3 - 5 August

An odyssey to the beginning and the end of human creativity.

A cheeky, dreamy, brainy blast of high-energy physical theatre performed by humans and stones.

Welcome to a hijacked meditation, a psychedelic school trip, a reverie on the reality-altering nature of attention, the limits of language, and humanity’s place in nature.

Inspired by the writings of Roger Caillois, this is a train ride into the depths of your subconscious. Expect otherworldly phantoms, surrealism, science, illuminations, aesthetic philosophy, The Sistine Chapel, your worst haircut, an Impressionist lunch, and lots and lots of stones.

The Writing of Stones is a physical theatre show about the consciousness of stones that asks if art will outlive humanity.

On a reckless romp through the history of art, humans and stones search for a way of being between human and mineral, subject and object, movement and stillness, sacred and profane.

And, in the end, we ask: who really will have the last word?

Produced by Emballage as part of The Camden Fringe








https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/the_writing_of_stones

Join us this week for an online workshop to help you with your budget.
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PRODUCING & BUDGETING FOR YOUR SHOW⁠
With Fae Fichtner ⁠
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24 June⁠
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On Zoom⁠
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This workshop is ideal for artists who are self-producing or are beginning to take on more responsibility in managing their projects. It’s especially useful for those who want to better understand how to forecast income, manage costs, and navigate the complexities of funding and ticketed income.⁠
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We will take a practical approach to building a flexible budgeting template in Excel, which you can adapt for future projects. There will be space for questions and discussion, so participants can share their own challenges and learn from each other’s experiences.⁠
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You'll leave with a workable template and budgeting know-how so you can budget effectively for your projects. ⁠
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Click on our bio and head to THEATRE MAKER to book.⁠
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https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/class/producing_budgeting_for_your_show

RE:ENCHANT - Poetic Experiments For A New World

Live literature every third Sunday

19 July

David Penn (Dharmavadana) will be reading from his debut collection, Birdmen and Astronauts (Poetry Salzburg).

His poems have appeared in The North, Poetry Salzburg Review, Under the Radar, Ambit, The Interpreter’s House, Prole and other publications. He was the poetry editor of the Buddhist arts magazine Urthona from 2013-2023.



Poet and playwright Pid'or Tampa will be reading poetry performed with music, initiate an interactive performance with an audience member, and join an ensemble group reading with Julie Cheung, Mamolefe Molefe, Pollyanna Knight, Tara Alexandra Anistasia, and Leonor Tinajero.

Plus regular readers and open mic

Curated and introduced by Nick Moss in collaboration with The Cockpit

The world changes: we make new poetry to vandalise literary forms or retrieve those we need to renew. We make new poetry to hybridise new species of understanding and reframe consciousness.

We make new poetry to have a good time.

Readings, recitations, incantations and events from established and upstart poets, word artists, ranters, spell-casters, rappers......and you if you want.

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/re-enchant_july_0

Looking ahead to July with a date for your diary

THEATRE IN THE POUND - our monthly scratch night
20 July

The last one before the summer break.

Join us as we create a safe space and help Theatre Makers develop their work.

£10 on the door

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/pound

Monthly night of exceptional sound. Come and join us.

JAZZ IN THE ROUND
29 June

Headliner: Led Bib
Soloist: Silvia Leonzio
Opening EMERGENCE slot: Holly Reinhardt Quartet

Led Bib are one of the UK’s most daring and acclaimed bands, smashing through genre boundaries with a sound that fuses jazz, rock, improv and noise into something entirely their own.

Chris Williams - sax
Pete Grogan - sax
Liran Donin -bass
Mark Holub - drums .holub

Silvia Leonzio is a Lithuanian/Italian vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in London. Her original repertoire moves between intimate and vibrant worlds - compositions that draw the listener close and others that pulse with energy, reflecting both her versatility and a strong musical identity.



Holly Reinhardt is a young bassist currently based in London, studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Her new quartet project is rooted in a fresh, modern approach to jazz, blending lyrical melodies, rhythmic interplay, and contemporary influences. _.reinhardt

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/led_bib_silvia_leonzio_holly_reinhardt_quartet

Looking ahead to the July edition of our rehearsed reading sessions with two new scripts.

NEW STUFF
5 July

GAMMELSTAD
by Arabella Jacobson

It’s spring 1860, in the cold north of Sweden. Birgitta and her brother Bror find refuge in their ‘church cottage’ from the harsh climate of their family life. A new coming-of-age play that celebrates the unique strength of sibling bonds.

and

PERDITA
by Sophie Todd

In a back room of Chawton House sits a painting of Mary Robinson. Born in 1757, she is one of the first examples of a tabloid celebrity. Married at 16, and put in prison due to her husband’s gambling debts, she played stages across London and bedded multiple members of high society, including Prince Regent George, The Earl of Ess*x, Colonel Banastre Tarrleton, the Duc de Lauzun, and Lord Lyttleton. Fashion icon, feminist writer, and supporter of the French Revolution, her ‘A Letter to the Women of England’ was considered a radical response to the anti-women rhetoric of the time, urging women that they ‘are not the mere appendages of Domestic Life, but the partners and equal associates of man’. She died at the age of 40, after spending her final years paralysed. Whilst her contemporaries (Garrick, Sheridan, Coleridge) have theatres named after them or are studied in school, Robinson has been largely forgotten, her political speeches taken by men, and her identity reduced to who she had affairs with. This is a real story lost to time.

https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/new_stuff_july_0