Welcome to Hoipolloi

Welcome to Hoipolloi.

WINNERS Fringe First 2007
WINNERS Total Theatre Award 2006

We are committed to creating new work for theatre that imaginatively engages our audience and makes them laugh. It is these two things, imagination and laughter, that drives us.

If you’re new to the company and discovering us for the very first time, take your time to look around and learn more about us. And so that we can keep you updated with the latest developments, please sign up to our free mailing list by clicking the button in the top right-hand corner of the site.

For more information on what’s coming up and when we’ll be next on tour, please see our latest news and the In Production section of the site.

Enjoy your time with us on the website, and I hope you’ll be able to join us at a Hoipolloi show very soon!

Shôn Dale-Jones
Artistic Director

“Hoipolloi ranks with Kneehigh Theatre as a group with a genuine desire to connect with its audiences. Like its Cornish counterpart, Hoipolloi offers work that is clever, accessible and engaging”
The Times
March 2008

The Doubtful Guest returns

“It” is back…

After a hugely successful debut tour, Hoipolloi’s darkly comic ensemble production The Doubtful Guest will be hitting the road again in the autumn!

The audience response to the first tour was fantastic and the company had great fun presenting it in Watford, Liverpool, Ipswich and Newcastle. The show received glowing reviews from both The Guardian and The Times and thank you to everyone who’s been in touch to tell us their thoughts on the show - you’ll find a selection of reviews from both press and audience here.

Since then, we’ve tried to keep the creature hidden away but to no avail, so the Bishop family is back, doing everything they can to rid themselves of their curious guest. Described as “a chuckle-a-minute high quality piece that laughs in the face of ‘serious’ theatre,” the show is a true tribute to the sneakily sinister world of Edward Gorey. You can watch videos from the production here.

The Doubtful Guest opens again at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in October before heading onto the Nuffield in Southampton, Cambridge Arts Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds before the tour ends at the Sherman Cymru in Cardiff.

Have a look at the complete set of tour dates here!

Hugh: still taking on the world

Story of a Rabbit completed its first UK tour with a hugely successful, near-sellout run at the Barbican’s Pit Theatre which impressed audiences and critics alike. Here’s what bloggers Claude and Anna had to say about the show.

Halfway through the tour, Hugh and his friend Sioned dashed off to Moscow for two performances of Floating and even found time to go and say hello to Lenin!

Now Hugh’s developed a taste for travel, there’s no stopping him! Story of a Rabbit will be heading to Helsinki in August and future tour destinations for Floating and Story of a Rabbit will include Singapore, Australia and the USA. But don’t worry he’ll be back in the UK before too long.

Keep checking the website for all the latest updates. In the meantime, have a look at some of Hugh’s new videos on our YouTube channel.

National Service

And speaking of Hugh’s next activity, Hoipolloi are delighted that he’s been invited by the National Theatre Studio to spend three weeks in July exploring ideas for a possible new production.

Shon Dale-Jones, Hoipolloi’s Artistic Director, spent time in the studio writing The Doubtful Guest back in January and so it’s great to once again be able to use this fantastic resource as part of the company’s ongoing research and development work.

Who knows what will take place but we’ll be posting updates direct from the rehearsal room on the blog so keep heading back for the latest news.

Hoipolloi: stretching the imagination

News