A production company packed with talent, fresh ideas and innovative approaches—Dr Chris Laoutaris, The Shakespeare Institute
Minimum set, maximum imagination: that’s the principle at the heart of Three Chairs and a Hat, the theatre company I founded to stage my small-scale musicals. A massively talented group of performers and backstage magicians makes up the Three Chairs team, performing in theatres, fringe festivals and online; and our output has extended to animation, digital drama and a major Shakespeare video project. Here are some more details about our productions:
MRS PACK is about a real woman — a wet-nurse who suckled a prince, spied for a queen, and turned the Stuart court upside down. After a great response to its première run at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe, we revived Mrs Pack at the 2024 Camden Fringe, giving four shows at the Etcetera Theatre to some great feedback (see below). Videos of the Edinburgh and Camden productions are available on Scenesaver and our YouTube channel, and the Edinburgh filmed performance was nominated for the 2024 Montreal Women Film Festival.
Reviews
‘A gem of a show … this musical should have global audiences’ — Fringebiscuit ⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘A delightful piece of storytelling: well choreographed, intricately scored and charming’ — London Pub Theatre Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
‘Richly assembled and given both humour and poignancy’ — LouReviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘Beautiful … bright and lively but very moving, with a sense of empathy for all the people caught up in this tangled web’ —
Fairy-Powered Productions ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audience feedback
‘Tremendous … interesting, thoughtful, pacey, energetic, slick, funny, great harmonies!’
‘Outstanding performances across the board. Captivating story, beautifully told, ingenious staging and use of props as you come to expect from Three Chairs and a Hat’
‘Witty, catchy songs that tell an intriguing story, delivered by a talented cast … with verve and joy’
‘Superb … My standout show of the [Edinburgh] Fringe’
‘Entertaining, profoundly moving and thought-provoking. Brilliant, original and multi-layered writing … Beautiful music’
‘A poignant retelling of a little known footnote to the historical record, with exquisite music … fantastic acting’
VERITY and DEXTER gave us two sides of one story on alternate nights at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, as the wedding of the century turned into an all-out disaster. Aunts and cousins, social media, the mysterious Moira Day and a herd of Moroccan donkeys—all created a quirky world on the Annexe stage of theSpace at Symposium Hall (The Annexe). We had lovely feedback from audiences and reviewers, and filmed versions of the Fringe shows are available on Scenesaver. Both shows were semi-finalists in the Edinburgh Film Awards 2024 — congratulations, team 🎬
Reviews
‘Fantastically clever … ticks over at an excellent pace … The dialogue is snappy, inherently human, and all the songs are great … I love the dissonant, two-voice, three-voice, all-voice harmonies’—
The Mumble ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Sharp and witty … buzz with ambition …’ —
LouReviews
‘More than a hint of Sondheim … a lively cast … each [show] deepens and strengthens the other’ —
2nd From Bottom
Audience feedback
‘Brilliant score and an amazingly talented cast’
‘Quirky, original … made me think without whacking me in the face — perfect Fringe. Brilliant!’
‘I was really impressed by the quality of the compositions and singing … I was left wanting more!’
VERITY made her original Fringe debut in 2019, after playing to full houses in Oxford.
She won BEST MUSICAL in the 2022 Scenesaver Birthday Honours awards.
Reviews
‘…a veritable modern masterpiece’ … ‘an extremely talented bunch’ … ‘Nia … rhymes like a rapper’… ‘A fabulous piece on so many levels’—The Mumble ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audience feedback
‘I loved it! Such great performances from everyone, and fab music.’
‘I really enjoyed the story, the fantastic singing and the slick presentation – very humorous, with some comical dance moves …’
‘A brilliant show—really enjoyed it’
‘It was absolutely bloody brilliant!’
To hear some songs from the show click here — or see video clips of the live performance on the Three Chairs and a Hat Youtube channel.
MELODY is a one-act musical with a cast of two creating a world of characters. Melody Smart, a cheerful hotel receptionist, wins a singing lesson in the staff raffle—and finds her carefully constructed life unravelling to reveal secrets, passions, and more than a few buttered digestives. MELODY has played in theatres in Oxford, Abingdon and Ross-on-Wye.
Reviews
‘A really compelling piece of theatre’
‘Nia Williams is a gifted and imaginative storyteller’
Nicola Lisle, Oxfordshire Classical Music.
Audience feeback
‘Brilliantly written and superbly executed’
‘Moving, funny, fascinating, absorbing’
‘Flawlessly performed’
‘Poignant, funny, painful, uplifting and deeply human’
‘Poignant, thought-provoking and utterly engrossing’
‘Amazing storytelling, clever lyrics and music’
‘Well written, well directed, well acted—loved it’ . —
A talented cast of 15 women, directed and filmed by Wayne T Brown, brings Shakespeare’s female characters into contemporary contexts in this 35-video project. Launching with a video a day on international theatre platform Scenesaver, Shakespeare (She/Her) already had great reviews from the Edinburgh and Brighton online fringe festivals, and in 2022 was showcased at the Equality Shakespeare Festival, a digital initiative from The Shakespeare Institute and University College London to foster equality across race, gender and class.
Semi-finalist, Best TV/Web Pilot, Paris Lady MovieMakers Film Festival 2024
Reviews
‘An insightful piece of theatre … powerful … style and feisty passion’—Broadway Baby ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Simple snapshots going straight to the heart of each of the women’—LouReviews ⭐⭐⭐
‘Fresh, innovative …a fast-paced production that is sure to keep viewers on their toes’—Theatre Weekly ⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Witty, arresting, poignant and powerful … be prepared to see Shakespeare’s women in a completely new light’—Dr Chris Laoutaris, The Shakespeare Institute
Click the links below to see our other digital theatre and animation productions:
An animated version of Lady M, a musical based on a vlogger with a past.
Winner, Best Short Animation, Paris Lady MovieMakers Film Festival 2024
Selected for the Berlin International Art Film Festival 2022
Semi-finalist, Palm Springs Shorts Film Festival 2022
The film is available in separate episodes as well as its full format:
PART ONE: MIDDAY HAGS—the first episode takes us back to Lady M’s past at Hannigan’s Department Store, haunted by the Hags and brightened by the arrival of Beth Mack
Selected as part of the Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival, 2021
Semi-Finalist, International Cosmopolitan Film Festival of Tokyo, 2022
PART TWO: MR KING—episode two introduces us to the eccentric boss of Hannigan’s
Finalist, Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift, 2021
Semi-Finalist, Stockholm Short Film Festival, 2021
Award of Distinction, Canada Shorts Film Festival, 2021
PART THREE: BANKSY—in episode three we meet Barnaby Banks, victim of Beth’s increasingly ruthless grab for power
PETER: The Homecoming
Part one of our animated musical about Peter the Great’s astonishing life.
Best Animation, Berlin Women Cinema Festival 2024
THREE STAGES
An exploration of loss, love and friendship in verse and song; featuring Matthew Allison.
Reviews:
‘Poetic, musical meditations on the experiences of loss and ageing, they are meditative and honest.’—Donna Kaye Speaks
‘Evocative, reflecting the confusion and sense of life’s fragility … a gentle sense of rueful regret and puzzlement … very moving’—British Theatre Guide
‘Simple yet hauntingly wonderful … tremendously well performed … a trio of softly spoken yet deep and meaningful pieces of art’—Fringe Review
HAUNTED
A dramatised version of my short story about isolation and obsession. Do you believe in ghosts?
Honorable Mention, Best Mobile Short, Independent Shorts Awards, Los Angeles 2021
Semi-Finalist, Indie Short Fest April 2021
Reviews
‘A strong script and imaginative use of technology make “Haunted” compelling viewing’—British Theatre Guide
‘Nia Williams deploys a poetic knack for helping the audience visualise the frantic, whirling colours of her character’s fixations’—Broadway Baby
‘Lyrical in spades … Williams’ presence alone is enough to ensnare viewers’—The Wee Review
PAMELA DRYSDALE’S LOCKDOWN
Three Chairs performer Jane Hainsworth demonstrates her writing talents in this one-woman comedy of errors about the unintended consequences of Lockdown on a naughty weekend away.
Reviews
‘The quirky approach makes going for a walk on the wild side with Pamela worthwhile’—British Theatre Guide
DADDY’S GIRLS
Three half-sisters meet to clear out their late father’s cottage, and attempt to untangle the mess of his past and their own relationships. Meanwhile, has anyone seen Sister Dora?
Our first staged musical played to full houses at the Old Fire Station and Burton Taylor theatres in Oxford. You can hear some of the songs from the show, performed by Rebecca Martin, Sarah Leatherbarrow and Jane Hainsworth, here.
Reviews
‘There is both humour and pathos in Nia Williams’s clever new musical … some wonderful moments … upbeat and philosophical’—Nicola Lisle, The Oxford Mail
SMOKE & MIRRORS
In this verse play based around songs by Kurt Weill, Rebecca Martin played twin sisters from birth to old age, in their very different journeys through Berlin, Paris and America during the most turbulent years of the 20th century. She sang in English, German and French and was moving, funny and altogether brilliant. We performed Smoke & Mirrors at the Old Fire Station in Oxford and at Kennington Hall. Here’s a track of Becca singing Nana’s Lied.
Scores and scripts of all the stage musicals are available for hire. If your group or society would like to stage one of these shows, go to the Contacts page and drop me a line for more information.
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