Stan’s Cafe is a theatre company. We make our work collaboratively, following exciting ideas wherever they take us, sometimes into theatres, but often not.

We love working in schools with students and teachers. Often we help out other people because we love seeing other people make great art.

We started in 1991 and we are more excited than ever before.

Have fun zipping around this fancy new website which, frankly, isn’t really finished.

Contact us or find out more about our current shows here.

Publicity image for Precious Emily show with cardboard cutouts of Precious McKenzie & Emily Campblell and live performer

Precious Emily – Family Show

(15, 16, 17 September – mac, Birmingham)


The Commonwealth Games may be over but we are keeping the excitement going with our new theatre show for everyone aged 9+. Precious Emily tells the stories of two inspirational weightlifters:

Precious McKenzie (4’10”) the legendary four times Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, whose incredible tale includes an escape from apartheid in South Africa, his father being killed by a crocodile and an attempt to join the circus.

Emily Campbell (5’11”) the charismatic and trailblazing Olympic Games silver medal winner whose uplifting adventure includes carnival, school sports day, a gold shirt, difficult decisions and lots of hard work.

This beautiful, witty show is also about all the lessons weightlifting can teach us, even when the heavy things we have to lift are only in our minds.

This is a bi-lingual show, performed in English & BSL.



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Of All The People In All The World

The internationally acclaimed performance installation that turns abstract human population statistics into emotionally gripping stories using grains of rice. It’s MUCH better than it sounds.
Current Portfolio Greatest Hits


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The Commentators

An improvised walkabout performance (unless they’re sat down) in which two sports commentators describe everyday life in too much detail. Catch them live in person or streamed live online.
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  • A Beautiful City
    How an obscure Stan’s Cafe project made in 2011 anticipated the glory of the Commonwealth Games coming to town.
  • A Happy D(el)ay
    Finally the floor gave way. After days of very strong people dropping very heavy weights onto it from above head height the floor quit.
  • Precious Emily Gala Performance
    This week 60 students from 10 schools gather for one day at MAC to stage the Gala performance of Precious Emily. This performance will be combining scenes from the 10 […]
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Precious Emily (Schools Shows)

The inspirational stories of weightlifters Precious McKenzie and Emily Campbell made into ten different shows by ten different primary schools – all called Precious Emily, combining to become a gala performance.
2022 Primary Education
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Saltley Shakespeare

Each year we help Year 8 at Saltley Academy stage twin productions of a play by Shakespeare on the site of his house in Stratford-Upon-Avon. This year it is Romeo and Juliet.
2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 english Learning Secondary School

Diary

The Commentators
3 & 4 September
Moseley Folk and Arts Festival

Precious Emily – family show
13:00 15 September
13:00 & 19:00 16 September
14:30 17 September
MAC, Birmingham

Of All The People In All The World
Dates in October and November
To Be Announced

River Tours
15 October, Venue & River TBA

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River Tours

Guided tours of rivers, performed live, indoors or out, illustrated by especially commissioned textile ribbon maps. The library is growing. A new map and tour will be unveiled in October.
2021 Outdoor Site Specific