Refurbished Camden People's Theatre to open in June with new season

Exclusive: Camden People's Theatre will reopen in June with a season of socially distanced performances, boasting a new bar and foyer area as well as an improved auditorium.

The venue will reopen on 15 June with Will Dickie's White Sun, exploring concepts of privilege and colonialism. Other shows in the venue's first few weeks include In Bed With My Brother's Retrained (in response to a certain infamous ad campaign), Rhys Hollis' Ladybird Boy, Immigration Crisis: The Musical from Prickly Bear, Stigma by Luis Amalia, Adam Lenson's first solo show But What if you Die? (about coming to terms with your mortality) and Katie O'Brien's Catch 22 Years.

Other highlights include Hannah Greenstreet's twist on the classic Greek tragedy Andromeda (27 to 31 July), as well as the feminist theatre festival Calm Down Dear, reaching its eighth year in 2021 and playing from 28 June to 16 July. The venue's Sprint festival will also continue online, presenting groundbreaking work to remote audiences.

New initiatives for the 27 year-old space include the creation of a community steering group and the introduction of an artist-in-residence within the community.

Executive director Kaya Stanley-Money said: "After a rollercoaster year, it feels quite momentous that we're finally able not only to re-open our theatre for public performances, but to reopen a theatre that has been totally transformed both inside and out. We'll be unveiling the finishing touches in the autumn but with the vast majority of the work completed we didn't want to delay getting the people who make CPT what it is, back in our building.

"Our capital development project has been fundamental to CPT's survival during this crisis and now provides the space for us to support our and our community's recovery. We've been reliant on digital tools and our brilliant local partners to deliver extensive artist support and community projects over the last few months, and now we cannot wait to wait to return to our home and welcome everyone into our beautiful theatre."

The venue has assured audiences that more tickets will be released in early June if social distancing is – as per the government's current roadmap – on course to end.