I have been noticing something I find really powerful and I have been curious about it for a while. Even in the middle of a cost of living crisis, when people are cutting back on almost everything, they are still finding the money for weddings, engagements, funerals, milestone birthdays, naming days, memorials, leaving dos, anniversaries, wakes, celebrations of life, gathering and shared meals. There is definitely a trend to spend more carefully. But people still make room to

The Boathouse Drama Club, There’s a special place for drama in our lives and in our hearts, a place for imagination, creation, innovation… in our Boathouse Drama Club. Young performers bring their passion and the stories that they tell that inspire play and performance and help discover whole new worlds. They enjoy the drama games they play, and the characters they have made and their true co-operation it’s the way friendships are formed. They learn to express emotion, and de

Short Story Competition We are delighted to be partnering with  Pen to Print  and  By the Book  to inaugurate our first Women and Femme identifying writers short story competition. Get your entries in soon and spread the word to budding writers who have a story to tell! (with links to By The Book etc) Results will be announced on March 8th, International Women's Day! Get writing. More information  HERE .

TThis year marks my second year working remotely from Jamaica and the rhythm of island life has quickly become familiar - the roosters at dawn, children chatter on their way to school, music floating through the air, the SUNSHINE. But, this trip carries a different kind of weight. After 11 long months, I finally reunited with my son. I’d been counting down from the moment The Boathouse gave me the green light and I booked my ticket. What made it even more emotional was knowin

Introduction On October 31st, All Hallows’ Eve, 65 women gathered at The Boathouse Studios for the very first Gathering Table , an evening of delicious food, story and song that brought women of different generations together to share and listen. I wanted to create a space that felt intimate and hopeful, a time for us to get together, share food and stories, laugh, connect across ages and experiences. In a world that feels fractured, this felt like a mini act of repair, a sma

Last Sunday we were delighted to host the launch of Threads of Home, the new poetry collection by local writer Mary Walsh, edited by...

BD Giving officially launched the 2025 Grow Fund 2.0 at a special event held on April 24th at The Boathouse Studios—one of the 2024 Grow...

Oh, what’s this? The Corcoran book collection is hidden away at the end of a corridor in the Boathouse Studios. Well there is no one...

Virtual Team Meeting In December 2024, I traded the cold winter of England for the warmth of Mandeville in sunny Jamaica. I’d like to...

“Our storytelling project continues in 2025, and I am so happy to be bringing it to ten more nursery settings across Barking and Dagenham...

Natalie joined the Boathouse in October 2024, and it’s been wonderful having her on board. She shares her experience of being part of the...

In this special edition of BD Giving's Nine Miles East Podcast , BD Giving host Elvire Matu returns to The Boathouse Studio to speak...

On the evening of November 28th, The Boathouse Studios once again came alive with music, performance, laughter and great food as we...

On Friday 25th October we screened the 1976 classic film Pressure as part of our ongoing development of a community cinema at The...

Jan Rosser is an artist based in Barking, living along the River Roding. She studied Fine Art at Sir John Moore’s University in...

As The Boathouse Studios in Barking marks its 10th anniversary, we celebrate the unique partnership that has played a crucial role in our...

Shadene Palmer - Social Media Manager, Carole Pluckrose - CEO & Artistic Director, Carl Blackburn - Chief Operations Officer, Julie Wedge...

When we first set up the Boathouse Studios 10 years ago, it really was an adventure. For many years before when I was leading Arc Theatre...

In January we shared the start of our Storytelling Project across early years and childcare settings in Barking and Dagenham. Now two...

At the age of 33 I retired from professional basketball. The years of high intensity running, jumping and landing took its toll on my...