A theatre company is desperately searching for a new stage to call home after losing the playhouse they have performed in for nearly 20 years.

Galleon Theatre Company has been in talks with Greenwich Council since June last year about their imminent eviction from above Belushi’s bar.

Yet, following their emotional swansong Duchess of Malfi, they have found themselves with nowhere to go after clearing their equipment from Greenwich Playhouse last week.

Beds and Bars who own the building decided not to renew the company’s lease, saying they want to take control of its properties, denying the timing had anything to do with the Olympics.

Alice de Sousa, artistic director of the company, was in tears following the final performance of John Webster’s classic play.

She said: “We are grateful the News Shopper has continued to highlight our predicament.

“The paper was instrumental between 1998 and 2000 through a campaign in stopping our landlords from closing our venue in the lead up to the Millennium.

“Unfortunately this time round the Olympics' generated greed proved an impossible force to defeat.

“We are very grateful and have drawn much comfort from the support and many meetings which we have had with Greenwich Council officers and councillors since June 2011 and from discussions which we have held with MP Nick Raynsford over the years seeking to find a permanent home in Greenwich for the Greenwich Playhouse.”

Alice and the company are in continued discussions with the council to find a positive resolution to the sad situation.

She said: “We are vital - the only intellectual theatre this borough has.

“People want us to continue in their community and we need to keep our story alive.”

Bruce Jamieson, co-founder of the Greenwich Playhouse and Galleon Theatre Company, has identified a number of locations which may be suitable for the staging of a pre-Olympics open-air theatre season.

Alice said all possibilities will be fully explored with the help of Greenwich Council.

She continued: “Following the many emails, phone calls and letters from our supporters suggesting alternative sites for our theatre a council owned site has surfaced and offers a potential possibility of a new home.

“We will actively and determinedly explore this possibility and hope that this will provide the much desired solution to our crisis.

“On behalf of our theatre and company I would like to thank the thousands of people who have emailed/phoned from all over the world to express their dismay that a 20 year old never funded venue, which has staged some 230 productions and created work and entertainment for 15,000 people each year, should be closed because of Olympics greed.”

Greenwich Council told us they are supporting the Playhouse to help secure its future.

They have negotiated an agreement with Greenwich Dance so Galleon can store equipment there and possibly use office space.

A spokesman said: “We have also contacted various property holders on their behalf.

“The Borough has met with the Arts Council to ascertain what support, if any, the Playhouse might receive and this week we visited a possible new theatre space.

“We also negotiated an agreement with the developer to secure a contribution towards fit out costs and a rent free period.

“We are sympathetic to the situation the theatre finds itself in but we cannot secure new premises where none exist.

"However, we have assisted them in any way possible and we hope that a solution can soon be reached.”

If you would like to offer the theatre a new home in Greenwich contact Alice at alice@galleontheatre.co.uk