RISE Festival 2026Studio Theatre at Chickenshed, 290 Chase Side, London | 20-21 February 2026 ⭐⭐⭐ Review by Mary-Ellen Dyson

Photo credit: Leda Omran

RISE Festival 2026

Studio Theatre at Chickenshed, 290 Chase Side, London | 20-21 February 2026

⭐⭐⭐ Review by Mary-Ellen Dyson

“A bright future ahead.”

The RISE Festival was created by Chickenshed to give their young dramatists an opportunity to develop new work and perform it in front of an audience. It is now part of Chickenshed’s BA programme, offering a valuable opportunity for these young people to write and direct, often for the first time. The shows at the RISE Festival are all works in progress, the writers’ first attempts to find their voice and tell their stories.

I was particularly impressed by the variety on display. The performances ranged from light comedies to heavy dramas, from music to dance to verse, from film to stage, and everything in between. Chickenshed is cultivating all of their students’ creative interests and talents, no matter what they are.

The short form favoured comedic turns over straight dramas. More conceptually ambitious pieces were generally less successful, perhaps because their allotted time restricted their fulfilment of their creations. I am hopeful that the creatives who stretched themselves to the limits of their ambition have come away with a renewed hunger to improve their work and enhance their skills. It is a testament to Chickenshed that their students had the courage to mount such ambitious work.

The quality was very consistent – the BA tutors have evidently ensured that all productions received careful attention – which makes it very hard to pick out any favourites. Here are but a few.

There were several longer, multi-medium pieces which intended to raise awareness of social ills. Of these, the greatest success was “Involuntary”, about the manosphere. I suspect that this piece was the most successful of its kind because it was the one that placed the greatest emphasis on humour. The song and dance were engaging and well-integrated, and the show told an intriguing story. It is intended as a school outreach show, aimed at Years 9-11. I think that they can develop it further to make it a strong offering for North London’s schools. The cringe comedy is presently done so well that it might be more painful than a teenage audience can bear, and the twist ending, which compelled a disinterested audience, might be too heavy-handed for an audience of manosphere sympathisers. I point this out because the creatives demonstrated tremendous potential, and I think that they can develop “Involuntary” into an excellent school outreach show.

There were also a few shows intended to raise awareness of what it’s like to live with certain medical conditions. As an inclusive theatre company, this is very relevant for many members of the Chickenshed family. “Woodpecker” and “Crumble” exemplify two very different approaches. “Woodpecker”, about the experience of OCD, was a straight, stylised dramatic piece, containing spoken word, song, movement and extensive metaphor. The story was compelling, and effectively conveyed what it’s like to experience OCD. “Crumble”, about executive dysfunction, was a very silly comedy, told through film, about a man attempting to make an apple crumble. (Spoiler alert: it contained more mayonnaise than apple.) The audience was in hysterics, as was I when retelling it to my family afterwards. Like “Woodpecker”, “Crumble” effectively communicated the experience of living with executive dysfunction.

There is one more show that I must mention, which will never fit into any category: “Ready”. I felt this to be the RISE Festival’s most original piece. This show, ostensibly about peer pressure, was bold enough to provide a nuanced exploration of the reasons why people take drugs. The show had tremendous fun with the trippiness of its concept and created an experience that I can never quite forget. A special shoutout must go to the song. If this is an original composition, the composer should be encouraged to develop their talents, because there is great potential here. Never have I been to a musical where the whole audience started singing along with a never-before-heard song, before getting up on stage to dance with the characters. Like I said, tremendous fun.

It is a shame that I don’t have space to discuss the other shows in depth, because they were all of similar quality. The RISE Festival demonstrated an array of dedicated young creatives honing their craft and learning their trade. These are Chickenshed’s creatives of tomorrow, and, having seen the RISE Festival, Chickenshed has a bright future ahead.

Creatives

“Involuntary”, by Tristan Manzi.
Cast: Shiloh Maersk, Angel Mboyo, Angie Pascall, Matthew Brennan, Phil Batt, Jack Harris, Tristan Manzi, Anna Listo-Rees.
Tristan Manzi – Director and Choreographer.
Shiloh Maersk – Co-Director, Choreographer.

“Woodpecker”, by James Hicks-Beach.
Cast: James Hicks-Beach, Anastasia O’Keefe, Lucas Matthew Elsm, Olivia Edsell, Ruth McGill.
Director: James Hicks-Beach.

“Crumble”, by Gianluca Blakemore.
Cast: Finn Walters.
Seb Ross – Writing and Directing
Created by Gianluca Blakemore

“Ready”, by Morgyn Turay.
Cast: Morgyn Turay, Josh Merrick, Phil Batt, Manuel Torres, Monay Samuels.
Director: Morgyn Turay.

“Girlhood”, by Summer Tracey Shott.
Cast: Juliette “JJ” Danvers, Summer Tracey Shott, Alex Tyler, Phil Batt, Tina Linsey, Sky Redfern, Charlotte Fields, Salas Yahia-Messaoud, Holly Brayson
Director: Summer Tracey Shott.

“Fashion Passion”, by Clara Chamberlain.*
Cast: Clara Chamberlain, Tina Linsey, Samantha Guy.
Asher Reuben - Choreography.

“Old Soul”, by Seren O’Brien.
Cast: Seren O’Brien.
Thanks to: Evonne Torongo, Kelechi Amadi, Diane White & Time Out – Band.

“A&E”, by Mouse O’Hehir.
Cast: Mouse O’Hehir, Alex Brennan.
Creative team: Phil Haines, Asher Reuben, Mouse O’Hehir – Director.

“Acceptance”, by Matteo Morris.*
Cast: Matteo Morris, Milo Peskin, Anastasia O’Keefe, Sonny Sinclair, David Akubardiya.
Director: Matteo Morris.

“Unveiling the Mask”, by Emily Brown.*
Cast: Emily Brown, Corina Elliott, Imogen Tearle, Morgyn Turay.
Director: Emily Brown.

“Flatshare”, by Eric Bowker.
Cast: Eric Bowker, Ruth McGill, Dante Militello, Christopher Ochieng.
Director: Jimmy Adamou.

*Not performed at the reviewed performance.