New Greenwich Festival Theatre announced on site of former Borough Halls
© Gravity Design
Theatre producers Selladoor Worldwide are planning to open a new theatre in Greenwich in 2021.
Named the Greenwich Festival Theatre, the south east London venue will occupy the former Borough Halls (a grade II-listed art deco building which was constructed in 1939) in Greenwich following an 18-month redevelopment of the space.
The plan is for the Greenwich Festival Theatre to house two performance spaces – a 650-seat main stage and a 240-seat studio space. There will also be a brasserie bar and a rooftop terrace available for punters and functions.
Emulating the programming models of venues like the Almeida or the Lyric Hammersmith Theatres, the Greenwich Festival Theatre will produce shows throughout the year, with an artistic leadership team and development team present to create and launch new work with an eye for touring and transferring to other venues across the globe.
Selladoor's planned development is in its final stage of public consultation. CEO David Hutchinson said: "The Borough Halls is brilliantly placed, as an iconic building and in the heart of the Borough, and our plans aim to build into the already exhilarating cultural capital in the Borough – building audiences, creating jobs and making Greenwich a destination for daytime and evening economies."
Tom Stickland of the Theatres Trust added: "The current state of Greenwich Borough Halls is a great concern for Theatres Trust and Selladoor have here presented a vision for a lively producing hub that will rejuvenate the space and be a great benefit to audiences within Greenwich and beyond."
The Greenwich Festival Theatre is scheduled to open in spring 2021.
