Greenwich theatre has been around since 1855 and is transforming the way we think about theatre one show at a time.

In the second of our series profiling hidden gems and places to discover around south-east London and north Kent, News Shopper spoke to the executive and artistic director James Haddrell about the changing face of the arts.

What is Greenwich Theatre’s history?

The theatre has been around since 1855 when it was a music hall. It carried on like this for about 100 years and then the council wanted it demolished. However they agreed to keep it open after local actors fought for it to stay open.

James has worked at Greenwich Theatre since 2001 where he started at a press officer. By 2007 he was artistic director and today he is executive and artistic directer because of the amount of in-house work it now produces.

What makes Greenwich Theatre different and exciting?

Instead of making big risky decisions, which cost a lot of money but can be hit-and-miss with audiences, it decided never to compromise its artistic decision-making. Ticket prices have dropped and the theatre has an amazing selection for families as well as adults. It has recently produced a version of the Jungle Book, which gets rid of the idea that there is only a Disney version and looks to tell the real stories, instead of the fairytale.

What are some of the biggest changes that Greenwich Theatre wants to see?

James told us there is a difficulty when it comes to children and young people ages six to 20 because there is nothing for them. The only real experience of theatre comes from school trips and it can be difficult when you are stuck watching Macbeth for two hours to get really excited about the theatre. It is now all about changing how people think about the theatre, and instead of putting on Netflix in the evening, to entice people to go to the theatre.

What do you need to know about the theatre?

The main auditorium holds 400 people and James is very keen to have something on all the time. He said that he also wants the space to be full during the day otherwise it seems a waste of such a beautiful space. There is also a fairly new studio space, downstairs, which is great for giving new theatre companies somewhere to create and rehearse.

What’s next for Greenwich Theatre?

The theatre has just received a Peter Harris grant and been asked to head the new Greenwich Performs festival in October. It has been asked to put on two plays, two Shakespeare plays and some more modern work. James is very excited to have been given the rights to a Michael Frayn play, which it is starting work on. Starting September 20 is Skin, a new dance show by 201 Dance Company, which everyone is very excited about. It is a fast-paced, emotional story of family, identity, and belonging.