East London
Theatre Company
Lead SponsorWanstead Golf Club
The Wasp at Wanstead Fringe 2026, showing two women facing one another, with performances on 18–19 and 23–26 September

How far would you go
to change your life?

East London Theatre Company presents The Wasp by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm — a tense, darkly funny and brilliantly constructed psychological thriller that keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

Directed by Jon Fentiman

Choose a performanceSee all performances

Presented under licence

The Wasp · 18–19 & 23–26 September◆Morgan Lloyd Malcolm◆Wanstead Fringe · 5–27 September 2026◆Tickets £16 · Concessions £14

Choose your performance

Two venues.
Eight performances.

Tickets £16 · Concessions £14 · Students £12

Plan your visit

About the play

“Gripping must-see theatre”

Official London Theatre

“An intense and immersive piece of theatre.”

Theatre Weekly

“A more gripping uninterrupted 80 minutes at the theatre will be hard to find.”

The Jewish Chronicle

Two women meet for the first time in years. One has a proposition. The other has a choice. As the conversation unfolds, old memories resurface, hidden motives emerge and nothing is quite what it seems.

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s acclaimed psychological thriller is a tense, darkly funny and brilliantly constructed play that keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

East London Theatre Company production
Directed by Jon Fentiman

The Wasp production artwork showing two women facing one another
Original production artwork

Imagine being offered a way out.

Imagine knowing exactly what it would cost.

How far would you go to change your life?

Community theatre
with ambition

Based in Wanstead · Reaching East London

Entertain.
Provoke. Inspire.

East London Theatre Company brings theatre-makers from across our community together to create bold, accessible productions for audiences across East London.

We are a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. Everything we earn is reinvested in our social purpose: theatre that entertains, inspires and challenges while widening access to live performance.

Previous productions

Made in East London.
Shared with our community.

Explore past productions
2022

DNA

Dennis Kelly

Wanstead Fringe · performances for local GCSE students and public audiences
2023

BU21

Stuart Slade

An East 15 Acting School production in association with ELTC
2024–25

Miss Julie

August Strindberg

Wanstead Fringe · The Courtyard Theatre · Redbridge Drama Centre
2025

Constellations

Nick Payne

The Wanstead Curtain

Why we make theatre

Entertainment
with purpose.

01

Access

We prioritise wheelchair access and the audience experience of wheelchair users. We work to make live theatre welcoming and accessible, especially for young people, low-income households, schools with limited arts provision, and older or mobility-challenged audiences.

02

New talent

We create opportunities for emerging performers and theatre-makers, including graduates of East 15 Acting School, The Court Training Company and Redbridge Drama Centre.

03

Community

We collaborate with local schools, venues and organisations to bring audiences together through ambitious, thought-provoking live performance.

Our home

The Wanstead
Curtain.

In 2024, East London Theatre Company and the Wanstead Fringe Committee transformed a disused hall at Wanstead Methodist Church into a welcoming, flexible performance venue.

Just off Wanstead High Street and close to Snaresbrook station, The Wanstead Curtain gives theatre and live events a home at the heart of the community.

Hermon Hill · Wanstead · E11 2AR
The hall being transformed into The Wanstead CurtainWork underway inside The Wanstead CurtainThe Wanstead Curtain sign outside the venueAn actor performing at The Wanstead CurtainA live performance surrounded by the audience at The Wanstead CurtainActors performing in the intimate Wanstead Curtain space

Stay close to the stage

First to hear.
First in line.

Join our mailing list for production news, ticket releases and ways to get involved.

We’ll only use your details for East London Theatre Company updates. Read our privacy notice.