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48 Thoughts Per Minute

48 Thoughts Per Minute

Tue 9 March 2027 – Wed 10 March 2027

Theatre

A fast-paced, hilarious & chaotic show, about all the things we think but do not say

Some scientists believe that your brain fires off 48 thoughts per minute*, that's 70,000 a day. So what exactly are we thinking about? The Paper Birds, UK leaders in devised verbatim theatre, are back with their most inventive, laugh-out-loud show yet, celebrating the ways we think.

Unfolding over 3 excruciating minutes, as a thirty-something awaits the result of a pregnancy test, 48 Thoughts Per Minute is a fast-paced, joyfully chaotic and warmly relatable story about the relationship we all have with ourselves. From mirror-based self-reflection, 3am catastrophising and memories that arrive uninvited, it’s a high-speed journey through one woman’s unstoppable cascade of thoughts as she awaits her fate.

Co-created with the celebrated comedian Jessica Fostekew (Iconic Breath, The Guilty Feminist and Hoovering), the show blends sharp new writing with verbatim stories from real people from across the UK. Working with a team of academic experts and designers, this is a show set inside a head where emotions, memories and chemical reactions all meet. And you’ll have the option to join in too, sharing your own thoughts via your smartphone.

Equal parts belly laughs and gentle gut-punch, 48 Thoughts asks us to consider how we approach the world around us whilst navigating the most important relationship we have, the one with ourselves.

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Time & Tickets

Tue 9 Mar 2027
19:00
Chelmsford Theatre
Tickets Available
Wed 10 Mar 2027
14:00
Chelmsford Theatre
Tickets Available

Planning Your Visit

Getting Here

Located in the heart of Chelmsford's West End, we are only a 10-minute walk from Chelmsford train station and a short distance from many of the city's car parks.

By Train

Chelmsford Train Station is a short walk from the Theatre. You can look at Greater Anglia to check which trains stop at Chelmsford Station.

By Bus

Chelmsford Bus Station is just around the corner from the Theatre. You can look at First Essex to check which buses stop at the Chelmsford Bus Station.

By Car

The closest parking to the Theatre can be found at Townfield Street car park (open till 11pm Mon to Sat but closes at 6pm on Sun), Coval Lane car park (entrance via Rainsford Lane, open all hours) and Fairfield Road car park, (entrance via Coval Lane, open all hours but there are restrictions in place Mon to Fri before 5pm, Fairfield Road car park is also used extensively by people visiting the city in general and travelling to London on the train so can be very busy at all times).

Visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/car-parks for information on all carparks before your visit. Charges apply at all times.

All Chelmsford City Council car parks are now cashless. You can still pay by card, contactless payment or the MiPermit app.