Who are we?
Moonstruck Astronaut is a not-for-profit community theatre company based in Newport, Shropshire that is in orbit around children co-creating arts projects that uplift and unite!
Our vision is to help foster a joyful, loving world in which everyone's creativity is valued and celebrated. We seek to strengthen our local community's wellbeing by enabling more people to take part in communal creativity in order to increase the bonds of friendship and fun between us all and serve world peace.
Our mission is to bring the local community of Newport and surrounding areas together through theatre projects, first with our children and then extending to all ages. In order to achieve this, we co-create drama projects and performances that encounter life from a child’s open-minded perspective of wonder and delight.
Based on years of experience teaching drama and directing theatre, we are passionate about the extensive benefits to a community’s wellbeing of taking part in communal creativity.
Hannah de Quincey
Artistic Director
What do we do?
We run ‘Drama in the Forest’ outdoor drama workshops for children in the school holidays.
We run the Newport Community Youth Theatre at St Nicholas' Church Parish Room on Saturday mornings in the Spring and Summer school terms.
We believe drama and theatre are powerful, delightful tools for enabling everyone’s confidence, self-expression and holistic wellbeing through the communication, creativity and community they foster. We want to help make these ‘tools’ for developing a well-rounded, contented individual accessible to more people in our local community.
Newport Youth Theatre
A Youth Theatre for 7 - 14 year olds which takes place in Newport from January to July every year.
Spring Drama in the Forest
A four-day outdoor drama and movement workshop for 6-12 year olds, themed around animals, that happens in the Easter school holidays.
Summer Drama in the Forest
A week-long outdoor drama workshop for 6-12 year olds, incorporating movement and musical instruments, that happens in the summer holidays every August.
Latest News
Jack’s interview on BBC Radio Shropshire!
Listen to our fab volunteer Jack Rennie’s 4 minute interview about how he found out about the theatre company and his first impressions:
Jack Rennie is a specialist in music composition and performance. He qualified from the University Of Wales in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and he loves to find interesting ways to bring musical projects into the local community. Jack has written a symphony, several albums and countless advert jingles and has been a proud resident of Newport for the last 3 years. He believes Newport is a magical town where people can go to find, or re-find, their creativity.
We feel immensely lucky to have recruited Jack as our music specialist volunteer. He is brave, reliable, full of fun and talent, really supportive and a total joy to collaborate with.
Moonstruck Astronaut Guiding Principles:
We are serious about play.
We seek to be a channel for creativity.
We are a space for finding peace and joy within and with each other.
We find freedom in time spent co-creating with our community.
Witnessing and celebrating each other’s creativity makes us feel alive.
We seek to give people moments and memories that will endure and give them strength for their whole lives.
Opportunities to join us...
Could you make an impact just by being you?
Volunteer with us to extend your skillset and CV and links with your local community.
Email Hannah on hannah@moonstruckastronaut.com if are interested in nurturing our local children by volunteering your time, talents and energy.
About Us
Moonstruck Astronaut community theatre company is a lifelong dream of Hannah de Quincey’s. Inspired by her training with London Bubble community theatre company and the Unicorn Theatre for Children in London, she emerged from completing her Masters in Theatre Directing in 2008 with the ambition to co-create a theatre company that specialises in both children’s theatre in conjunction with community theatre. Fast forward over a decade later and the community theatre company that uplifts and unites all she had envisaged is now growing in Shropshire.
The name for the theatre company landed in her mind when she was mesmerised by the moon while walking home when living in London. She still can be found staring up at the moon in the night sky and hopes you remember to look up too!
Participant Feedback
Feedback from ‘Summer Drama in the Forest’ 2022
- Best holiday club we've had.
- Absolutely amazing, would highly recommend drama in the forest.
- Excellent all round, wonderful staff, fabulous week.
- Perfect length of time for group to bond and produce the end production.
- My chldren have thoroughly enjoyed it and woken up each day excited to come. They have improved their confidence and social skills.
- He has loved it and also come out of his comfort zone.
- Perfect time, excellent food!
- Amazing and essential.
Feedback from ‘Newport Community Youth Theatre’ 2022
- Highly recommend Newport Youth Theatre. Good for budding drama pupils or children who just want to try out. Helps children to improve self-esteem and build confidence.
- When children come together collaboratively to recreate their visions/interpretations, it is always inspiring. And MA has managed that really well.
- Fantastic, entertaining, funny. Well-rehearsed. Very expressive and clear delivery. Great teamwork.
- Fun and well performed. Children performed so well as a team.
- Fabulous that this was created from their own thoughts and ideas. A great first event. Onwards and upwards!
- Absolutely fantastic! Performance so unique and well thought ideas.
- They all performed with confidence which can only grow.
- Great to see a youth theatre back in Newport. Look forward to the next show.
Feedback from ‘Spooky Drama in the Forest’ 2021
- Forest and drama – two of the best things combined!!
- Brilliant and patient staff with a wonderful flair for creativity
- Fantastic from beginning to end.. it’s excellent how comfortable my son is and excited to attend.
- Fabulous! My daughter’s words: ‘It was really fun!’ Thank you so much
- My daughter had a fantastic time, loved meeting new kids and spending time outside being creative!
Feedback from ‘Summer Drama in the Forest’ 2021
- My little boy went to Drama in the Forest last week and had such a great time! He couldn’t wait to get there every day. Hannah and Becky were really so lovely with him. Just in the 3 days his confidence grew and he loved being in the forest making friends and learning. He has already said he hopes it’s on again next year ☺️ I can’t recommend it highly enough.
- Excellent opportunity for children to meet new friends, extend and show off their talents all in the beautiful natural setting.
- My children have thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and my daughter has grown with how she interacts with her brother and others.
- Friendly organisation utilising the great outdoors, facilitating and learning drama skills.
