New venue to be called Southwark Playhouse Elephant, with existing venue to be renamed Southwark Playhouse Borough
The Southwark Playhouse has announced its first season of productions at its new, second theatre in South London, located in Elephant and Castle.
The purpose build new theatre will officially open on 19 January 2023, and be called the Southwark Playhouse Elephant.
The venue features two new spaces – a flexible auditorium of up to 310 seats, and a youth and community space.
Southwark Playhouse’s main venue on Newington Causeway between Elephant & Castle and Borough will be renamed Southwark Playhouse Borough.
The first show will be Alan Bennett’s adaptation of The Wind in the Willows from 19 to 21 January 2023, presented by the Southwark Playhouse Elders Company, a drama and social groups open to everyone over the age of 65.
This will be followed by a new piece called Bermondsey Revolution from 26 to 28 January 2023, devised by People’s Company directed by John Whelan, about the lives of local social reformers Ada and Alfred Salter presented through an immersive Brechtian experience.
Enda Walsh’s The Walworth Farce gets a new revival in February, playing from 17 February to 18 March 2023. This hilarious, shocking, and prescient play is about how history is moulded and twisted to entrench those in power. The play will be directed by Nicky Allpress and designed by Anisha Field.
Chris Smyrnios, Artistic Director, and CEO of Southwark Playhouse said in a press statement: “Conceived in 2006, this theatre has been a long time in the making, having survived multiple developers, the 2008 credit crunch and a pandemic. Finally, we’ll be able to firmly plant our roots in this amazing and vibrant borough that we call home; we’ll be able to showcase even more work by the best new and emerging theatre artists and practitioners; and offer further opportunities for local people to discover and participate in theatre and the arts. And we are so pleased to be opening our new building with two brilliant productions by our community companies.”
Coming up at Southwark Playhouse Borough are shows including Who’s Holiday and Smoke.
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