The Yard Theatre have secured a significant £700,000 grant from Arts Council England (ACE) towards their building project, bringing the total raised by the organisation for the capital works to over £6m including generous support from London Legacy Development Corporation and Greater London Authority, as well as a host of private trusts.
The project will see the organisation secure a long lease on its current site, and transform The Yard into a state-of-the-art theatre designed by award-winning Takero Shimazaki Architects (RIBA) after spending the last 12 years in what was planned to be a temporary warehouse conversion. The project entails a major refurbishment and extension of the organisation’s current building, creating a new auditorium which will double the seated capacity to 200; improving comfort for all audiences including new cushioned seats; and ensuring all artists have the resources they need to bring their visions to life, whether making a show in the theatre or a performance event in the bar space. The larger auditorium and high-quality facilities will provide new income streams to sustain the organisation financially.
Embracing green innovation, the theatre will boast a naturally ventilated auditorium, utilise recycled waste-based brick, and incorporate solar power, minimising its environmental impact. Accessibility is at the forefront of the design, with a level floor, a wheelchair-accessible technical box, and an accessible lighting rig.
The new space will also include a workshop, spacious dressing rooms with showers for performer comfort, and a permanent Young Artists Space – a legacy project replacing Hackney Wick’s temporary community centre, Hub67. A vibrant cafe/bar and front-of-house area will further complement the new Yard Theatre continuing to be the home for independent nightlife collectives that champion new performance and underrepresented communities, as well as hosting daytime visitors, and now boasting performance specialised technology.
