Queens Theatre Hornchurch – Daedalus Theatre Company

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Inviting Nature onstage: Dysbiosis premieres at Queens Theatre, Hornchurch

By DaedalusAdmin on Thursday, September 11, 2025

Photo by Hannah Davis of the Dysbiosis Collective and QTH Associate Producer Steven Bowyer at Queens Theatre

It has been four years in development, including some long pauses for fundraising. But we finally premiered Dysbiosis to a public audience last weekend. It took place at Queens Theatre, Hornchurch, which is also where it all started. We had performances on the main stage and an exhibition, titled Queering the Earth in the foyer.

The Dysbiosis Collective are Amy Daniels, Amy-Rose Edlyn, Fran Olivares, Kathryn Webb, Nuke Lagranje, Paul Burgess, Shakira Malkani, Tasnim Siddiqa Amin, Yael Elisheva and Zia Álmos Joshua.

Some highlights from the journey. Walking and drawing in Rainham Marshes with local residents. Running a workshop in a chapel in the middle of a cemetery in Sheffield. Doing a birdsong-filled sound walk in another cemetery, this time in Mile End, London. An exhibition of community artworks at the Royals Youth Centre in Rainham. Turning up to make a pitch to a Havering Changing residents’ panel with tea and homemade cake. Collaging with LGBTQ+ young people in Romford. Testing out ideas at Omnibus Theatre, as part of the 96 Festival of LGBTQ+ theatre.

Artist Spotlight Major Projects

Artist Spotlight: Amy-Rose Edlyn

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, September 2, 2025

We’re delighted to spotlight Amy (they/them), who first joined us in June to install our exhibition at Omnibus Theatre. This time, Amy returns as co-creator of Queering the Earth and stage manager for Dysbiosis. Throughout an intensive week of rehearsals at Queens Theatre Hornchurch, Amy will be bringing a wide range of skills to support the team. As a queer interdisciplinary artist and theatremaker deeply engaged in political and community work, Amy already feels like a long-lost member of Dysbiosis.

Tell us about yourself and your creative practice. You’ve worked across stage management, design, facilitation, and live art – how would you describe what drives your work and where your practice is heading?

I am a queer, multidisciplinary creative based in Tower Hamlets. I started out as a theatre designer/maker alongside working in technical theatre working extensively around West End and off-West End productions for over a decade now. In the past 5 years I expanded my practice in co-founding and directing queer arts company Bold Mellon Collective CIC as a creative producer, facilitator and curator of visual and live-art. Since February 2025, I have also been an artist in residence at Firepit Art Gallery and Studios CIC developing my own visual art & curatorial practice. I am especially interested in community-based projects which weave the intersections of the LGBTQIA+ community together and promote wellbeing through the arts. Politically active and socially engaging works drive me to create and currently I feel my practice going through an exciting transformation in blending these worlds and expanding capacity so I am excited to see where it takes me!

You first encountered Dysbiosis as an audience member at the Omnibus Theatre sharing, then co-curated the exhibition, and now you’re joining as stage manager. What has it been like to experience the project from these different perspectives?

Artist Spotlight Major Projects

Artist Spotlight: Fran Olivares

By DaedalusAdmin on Thursday, February 22, 2024

Our latest Dysbiosis team spotlight is on Chilean performer, director, translator, tutor and theatremaker Fran Olivares. When Fran isn’t busy bringing thought-provoking theatre to life, she is also a proud mother to a 2-year-old who keeps her on her toes and gives her a whole new appreciation for the power of imagination and play!

Tell us about yourself and your creative practice.

I’m Fran, a theatre person from Chile, now based in SE London. My work spans directing, performing, translating, writing, and facilitating, all focused on themes around identity, marginality, and the female experience. Dysbiosis addresses the urgent and dreadful impacts of global warming and neo-capitalist exploitation. Personally, these issues are not abstract for me; they’re part of the reality currently affecting South America, and as a mother, the future of our planet weighs heavily on my mind.

I’m driven by the belief that making even a small difference in our corners of the world can lead to a brighter future. So, for me, my work is more than just putting on a show for entertainment; it’s also about using my body/voice as a tool for communication, a way to build community, and a platform to shine a light on the issues that matter.

What does ‘dysbiosis’ mean to you?

To me, ‘dysbiosis’ is about imbalance, and not just in nature, but in how we interact within our communities. It’s as if everything from the ecosystems to our social structures have fallen out of harmony because of the way we treat each other and our planet.

Major Projects Participation Partners and Collaborators The Company

Daedalus Theatre announce new partnership with Havering Changing

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Date: 16 January 2024

Daedalus Theatre Company has been awarded Creative Community Support by Rainham Change Makers, the local Havering Changing steering group in Rainham, to deliver creative nature workshops in Rainham and Wennington this Spring 2024.

The creative nature workshops are for local adults in Rainham and Wennington with an interest in nature and a curiosity for visual arts. Together, we will work on a collective response to probing questions about nature and local green spaces that will be showcased as a mobile installation. The project will also experiment with sustainable materials and look at ecological ways of thinking. Work with the group, along with the Queens Theatre Hornchurch young company programme, will feed into our next iteration of the DYSBIOSIS project.

The new work-in-progress project DYSBIOSIS began with an R&D at Queens Theatre Hornchurch in April 2023. Supported by Arts Council England, we delivered an R&D at Queens Theatre Hornchurch in Autumn with a group of exciting creative practitioners such as Zia Álmos Joshua and Havering local Kathryn Webb. The project seeks to explore our relationship with nature in the global north through a queer lens.

Guest blog Major Projects Partners and Collaborators

Reflections on Dysbiosis R&D sharing by Olivia Catchpole

By DaedalusAdmin on Monday, December 18, 2023

Theatremaker and writer Olivia Catchpole joined us for our R&D sharing at the end of the second week of R&D at Queens Theatre Hornchurch on Friday 1st December 2023. Read on to hear her thoughts on the project and her own interpretation on the meaning of Dysbiosis in relation to her own political standpoint.

Dimmed lights lend an air of expectation to the scene as we come cautiously into the room, wondering what’s in store for us. I’m wondering what “dysbiosis” means and how it might be shown. Coming in from traffic-ridden streets, I’m instantly soothed by the space that has been created, bowls of Mehndi (commonly known as henna in the West) and turmeric paste sit on the table in front of us along with offers of tea and a glimpse of treetops through the skylight. Scripts lie on the technician’s table, ready to be used.

*Captures from a movement piece which depicts live video projection of organic materials and video footage by Paul Burgess onto Yael Elisheva*

We’re here to see DYSBIOSIS, a piece in development by Daedalus Theatre Company in collaboration with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. The project brings local artists together with a group of mostly queer, East-London-based practitioners from a wide range of creative disciplines, to explore stories of queer ecology, colonialism and the Global North’s relationship to nature. As far as I can tell, such projects are thin on the ground in London and Essex, so I’m especially excited to see what they’ve come up with. Perhaps, I hope, the show will alleviate some of the tension I feel thinking of our collective disconnect, even disregard, for nature’s processes at such a vital time. A time of biodiversity crisis, striking the creatures which hold up the basis of our existence. A recent survey led by the RSPB found that flying insects have declined by 60% in the UK in the past twenty years. One fact in a seemingly endless stream of dire warnings. I wonder, with the familiar frustration, whether I need to explain the gravity of this situation. Not only bees are pollinators- every insect lost is the loss of a vital element of the system. Trees, plants, and animals too, are immeasurably more than just a pretty luxury.

Artist Spotlight Major Projects Partners and Collaborators Research and Development

Artist Spotlight: Yael Elisheva

By DaedalusAdmin on Wednesday, December 13, 2023

We met up with the Dysbiosis team again for a second week of R&D at Queens Theatre Hornchurch two weeks ago. Our third spotlight is on theatremaker, physical performer, drag artist, drama facilitator and many more things Yael Elisheva. They often work in Jewish spaces and use their artistic practice as a means of examining Jewish culture and religion.

What is your relationship with nature?

In my work, I play with found objects and explore how they can be used unconventionally and with multiple purposes. I grew up observing the sabbath, which gave me a strong connection to nature and rest and play. In today’s Western society – our relationship with rest is often viewed as lazy. I’d love to challenge that and offer rest as a means of rejuvenation for our planet.

How do queerness and nature intersect?

When I first heard of different animals and plants that are constantly changing genders like oysters and mushrooms, I felt so validated in my own gender expression.

How does your heritage influence the way you view/value nature?

As a jew, I have rituals and prayers that revolve around nature and gratitude for nature. I have been specifically interested in how the Jewish sabbath embodies an attitude of rest which allows nature to rest as well.

Were any aspects of the project new to you (e.g. devising collaboratively, doing an R&D, working with a designer-led company) and if so, what did you expect coming in?

Major Projects Partners and Collaborators

Dysbiosis R&D Part 2 – A Quick Glimpse!

By DaedalusAdmin on Monday, December 11, 2023

We have lots more to say about this, along with some exciting news about how we’re working with local residents. But, in the meantime, Nabeela Zaman came along to our end-of-R&D sharing and made this lovely reel.

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A post shared by Daedalus Theatre Company (@daedalustheatre)

If you want to know more about the first part of the R&D, back in March, you can read about it here.

Artist Spotlight Major Projects Partners and Collaborators

Artist Spotlight: Tasnim Siddiqa Amin

By DaedalusAdmin on Sunday, September 17, 2023

Tell us about yourself and your creative practice.

I’m Tasnim, a queer Bangladeshi-British woman from East London and I am a visual artist, theatremaker and writer. I am Assistant Producer/Director for Daedalus Theatre Company.

What does queer ecology mean to you?

I don’t do very well with long words haha but after spending a week unpacking and consistent Googling I would say queer ecology describes a critical, intersectional and decentralised approach in the way we look at how people, plants, animals and smaller organisms interact with their environment, both locally and globally.

What did you discover about yourself and the way you work during the Dysbiosis R&D week?

I discovered that I really thrive in pressured creative environments bouncing ideas of creatives from different disciplines. It dawned on me that to pursue a project you don’t need to have it all figured out, having an idea is good enough. I never knew I could work with venues this way, the way Paul was doing, to say hey I have an idea and I want to bring along a bunch of people that I’ve never met from different creative disciplines in a rehearsal room at your theatre and see what happens.

Events Major Projects Partners and Collaborators The Company

In case you missed it, our latest newsletter…

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Welcome to this quick roundup of news from Daedalus Theatre Company.

If you’ve been stuck in London these past few weeks, there’s not been much of a summer. But with September around the corner, we’ve been busy brewing some exciting projects and plans.

Ten Years East at A Season of Bangla Drama – save the date!

We’re really thrilled to announce that East Storytelling Project has been selected for this year’s A Season of Bangla Drama, with an evening of stories and songs from across the diverse cultures of East London. In line with the festival’s theme for 2023, we’ll be exploring love in its many forms. It’s also ten years since we started East, so we have a line-up of tellers and singers from across the decade. We’ll also be performing at the venue where it all began: Rich Mix in Bethnal Green.

Here’s a summary of the festival programme and for now, please save the date! Our show, Ten Years East, is on the evening of 19th November.

Artist Spotlight: Kathryn Webb

Artist Spotlight Associate Artists Major Projects

Artist Spotlight: Kathryn Webb

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, July 25, 2023

While we prepare for the next stage of Dysbiosis, our journey through queer ecology and environmental justice at Queens Theatre Hornchurch, we’re introducing some of the amazing artists we’re privileged to work with on the project. First up is Kathryn Webb.

Tell us about yourself and your creative practice.

Hi! My name is Kathryn and I’m a queer, neurodivergent, working-class creative from Cranham. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been into ‘making things’. In primary school, me and my bestie used to shoot our own version of Doctor Who, complete with ketchup blood, on a camcorder in his back garden. Nowadays my creative output spans theatre, film, poetry and anything in between. I’ve been mentored by Sky Arts, Creative England, Rianne Pictures, and made a short film for the BBC100 Project. My work stems from an interest in marginalised voices, folklore, and queerness. Previous theatre work has been staged at Theatre503, Arcola, Golden Goose, Pleasance, and Omnibus.

What does queer ecology mean to you?

To me, queer ecology is about questioning what we take for granted when we think of nature, science and reproduction. Unpacking the colonialism and white supremacy of the ‘truths’ we’ve been given and expanding our horizons to see beyond binaries. Nature is brimming with examples of queerness – it’s no joke that we’ve always been here and always will. Through this process, I’ve been empowered to challenge the notion that we exist to procreate.

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