This summer, Camden People’s Theatre will reopen their doors to welcome back audiences and performers alike to a fresh new space.
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 ours 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.”
Artistic director Brian Logan said, “We’ve not been dormant for the last year: with digital theatre, engagement projects, outdoor performance and ‘Outside the Box’ thinking, it’s been one of the most active and creative periods in CPT’s history. But something very special has been missing – and we’re delighted that, from mid-June, it’s coming back, with a (Covid-secure!) bang. This two-month season of in-person theatre takes us back to our first love: everyone in a room together (distanced or otherwise…), sharing the experience of adventurous, hot-button performance. We can’t wait to welcome audiences from Camden, London and beyond back to CPT. We promise them a warm welcome and all the thrills that come when a season’s worth of stellar artists, reined in for fifteen months, are finally unleashed.”
The newly reimagined venue will offer improved facilities for performers and audiences alike, as well as a more comfortable bar and foyer space. Celebrating the return of in-person performances, a cutting-edge programme of work will launch the space whilst an exciting digital programme will continue online. Firmly rooted in its local community, Camden People’s Theatre has included local residents throughout the co-design process, improving access, sustainability and paving the way for many more years as one of Camden’s best-loved venues.
Reopening Camden People’s Theatre on Tuesday 15th June is Will Dickie’s White Sun (15th – 17th June), which unpicks white privilege, colonialism and legacies of trauma in the search to understand identity. Meanwhile In Bed With My Brother’s Retrained (17th-19th June) is a satirical take on the government’s unpopular approach to artists during the pandemic. Adam Lenson, director of smash-hit live-stream Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse, will perform But What If You Die? (25th – 26th June), a solo musical about a cancer diagnosis, mortality and the lives un-lived. Highlights also include Hannah Greenstreet’s reimagining of the classic Andromeda (27th – 31st July), interweaving ancient fragments of a lost tale with a contemporary queer love story.
This June also marks the return of the much-loved feminist theatre festival Calm Down Dear, now in its eighth year. Performances include Georgie Jones’ acclaimed solo Ish, celebrating the grotesque and glorious experience of growing up female, alongside new performances by artists from south-east Asia, Bulgaria and beyond. Online, Sprint Digital will showcase a host of new work ranging from Australian theatre company Pony Cam’s award winning experimental PowerPoint experience, A Red Square to Sophie Warren’s interactive exploration of chronic and invisible illness in younger people, Sugar Rush.
All performances are being put on-sale to socially distanced capacity. More tickets will be released in early June if social distancing is – as per the government’s current roadmap – on course to end.
For information on social-distancing measures in place, please visit Camden People Theatre’s website.
