Greenwich Theatre Announces Autumn 2016 Season

The Greenwich Theatre announces its Autumn 2016 season! Beginning with the How Small How Far Production of Garden, the company will present and produce two dozen productions in the coming autumn months. Details for each production are below. For more information, visit http://www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk.

The history of Greenwich Theatre is firmly anchored in the traditions of English live entertainment beginning just over 150 years ago when John Green established the Rose and Crown Music Hall on our modern day Crooms Hill site. In 1871 new owner Charles Crowder refurbished the venue and re-opened it as Crowders Music Hall. Despite prosecution the following year for the unlawful performance of stage plays', resulting in a fine of one shilling, Crowder continued to offer a rich mixture of burlesque, concert and ballet acts every evening. The following years saw more rapid change, with the Theatre becoming known as the Temple of Varieties, then the Royal Borough of Varieties, before being rebuilt to the designs of John George Buckle and dubbed the Parthenon Theatre of Varieties. Buckle's Nevada Street façade can still be seen today, now located at the side of the Theatre.

In about 1902 Samuel and Daniel Barnard took over, relocating the entrance to Crooms Hill, and following further management changes the Theatre became the Greenwich Hippodrome Picture Palace showing a mixed bill of film and live performance.

When the Theatre lost its license for live performance in 1924 it restricted its operation to screening films, but the next major change came during the Second World War when an incendiary bomb crashed through the roof into the auditorium. From this point the Theatre was closed and remained empty.

Greenwich Council bought the site for demolition in 1962, but agreed to support the idea of a new theatre if there was enough local enthusiasm to justify it. Ewan Hooper, a local actor and director, accepted the challenge of rallying support. Local councils, the Arts Council and the GLC were all generous in their contributions, but it is notable that half the cost of the new theatre came from local individuals and businesses.

On 21st October 1969 the theatre re-opened with Martin Luther King, a new piece of musical theatre written by Ewan Hooper. Over the next 28 years, Greenwich Theatre produced a body of work of astonishing quality and variety under the artistic directorship first of Ewan Hooper and subsequently of Alan Strachan, Sue Dunderdale and Matthew Francis.

The first few years saw Mia Farrow and Charles Dance in Chekhov's Three Sisters, Glenda Jackson, Susannah York and Vivien Marchant in Genet's The Maids, the premiere of John Mortimer's A Voyage Round My Father and a star studded season directed by Jonathan Miller. Developing a long standing association with the Theatre, Max Wall memorably starred in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. By 1997 the Theatre had seen several West End transfers including Alan Ayckbourn's Intimate Exchanges, Noel Coward's Private Lives, Michael Frayn's Three Sisters and John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.

After a period of closure in the late 90s, Greenwich Theatre reopened in 1999 under new director Hilary Strong.

Autumn 2002 marked the Theatre's return to producing, when Clive Rowe starred in Paul Ryan and Peter Readman's new musical Sadly Solo Joe. The show was one of 12 new musicals showcased in Musical Futures 2002, and after its run here the production transferred to the International Festival of Musical Theatre in Cardiff. In summer 2003, to great acclaim, we revived Golden Boy, an American musical not seen in London since Sammy Davis Jnr played the starring role at the London Palladium in 1969, and in 2005 we presented the world premiere of Arnold Wesker's Longitude.

In 2007 James Haddrell became director of the theatre, reimagining the theatre as you see it today. The theatre now presents the annuAl Greenwich Children's Theatre Festival every April, co-produces the annuAl Greenwich World Cultural Festivalwith Greenwich Dance, and produces a free outdoor summer show (awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark in 2008). The theatre's work with young and emerging artists has grown rapidly and the company now runs a hugely oversubscribed artist development programme, supporting young or new companies as they grow and evolve and presenting an annual Emerging Artists season every May.

The company's in-house producing has also increased dramatically. A partnership with new film company Stage on Screen has led to the production of four classic dramas since 2009 - Doctor Faustus, The School For Scandal, The Duchess of Malfi and Volpone - all of which are now selling internationally on DVD.

In 2010 the theatre made its producing debut at the New End Theatre in Hampstead with Pakita: Stimulating, Bitter and Necessary, co-produced with Little Soldier Productions. Since then we have toured work to The London Particular (New Cross), Stratford Circus, Chelsea Theatre and Jackson's Lane (Highgate), and toured co-productions around the country with Scamp Theatre and Finger In The Pie. We have forthcoming productions scheduled for Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Teachers' Club at the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival, and Courtyard Theatre as part of the Out In The Sticks Festival in Hereford.

[supported company]

Fri 2 & Sun 4 September

How Small How Far presents

GARDEN

Monday to Friday, Lucy catches the 8am train to work where she is in charge of the photocopier, printer, scanner, shredder and binder. Then one day, her life takes an unexpected turn when she rescues the long-suffering office pot plant...

Shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Award for Theatre Excellence.

Eves 8pm

[supported company]

Sat 3 & Sun 4 September

How Small How Far presents

LUCY, LUCY AND LUCY BARFIELD

Unpicking a life less documented, from Narnia's Lucy Pevensie to C.S. Lewis' real life god-daughter Lucy Barfield, this is an intimate show about holding on to adventure, falling through the cracks and finding your own way back.

Sat 8pm, Sun 4pm

[supported company]

Tue 6-Sat 10 September

The Outbound Project presents

THE MISSION

The story of an ordinary woman selected for an extraordinary mission into space, brought to life with movement, puppetry, music and immaculate storytelling.

Winner of the inaugural Les Enfants Terribles Partnership Award.

Tue, Thu, Sat, 7pm; Wed, Fri, 8.45pm

Tue 6-Sat 10 September

Sharklegs presents

THE INEVITABLE HEARTBREAK OF GAVIN PLIMSOLE

If you had a finite number of heartbeats, how would you make each beat count? Combining comedy with a moving, whimsical story, this unique new show is influenced every night by the collective heartbeats of the audience.

Winner of the 2016 Les Enfants Terribles Edinburgh Award.

Tue, Thu, Sat, 8.45pm; Wed, Fri, 7pm

[supported company]

Sun 11 September

The Human Zoo Theatre Company presents

THE GIRL WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE MOON

A string of original fairy tales stitched together into a Tim Burton-esque patchwork of puppetry, poetry, movement and live music from the award-winning Human Zoo.

Mat 4pm

[supported company]

Sun 11-Tue 13 September

The Human Zoo Theatre Company presents

GIANT

An explosive, absurd and visceral coming of age adventure, performed with the Human Zoo's trademark visual style, transferring to Greenwich direct from a run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Eves 8pm

Thu 15-Sat 17 September

The Production Exchange presents

LADY ANNA

An abundantly British business involving a disputed title, fraud, bigamy, a legal case, madness and attempted murder provides the backdrop for this stage adaptation of the classic Anthony Trollope novel.

Thu-Sat 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm

Tue 20-Sat 24 September

Dawn State Theatre Company presents

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

The story of Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot, soldiers-for-hire amid the shifting borders of the Middle East. Tired of the mercenary life, Peachy and Daniel have come up with a plan - head to Northern Afghanistan, enslave the natives, and install themselves as kings.

Eves 8pm

[supported company]

Wed 21 September-Sun 2 October

CultureClash Theatre and Greenwich Theatre present

UNDER MY THUMB

In a dystopian version of the present, six women are imprisoned for crimes against society, but did they really commit them, and is Ree, the newest prisoner to be thrown into their midst, all that she appears?

Shortlisted for the 2016 RED Women's Theatre Award

[Greenwich Theatre studio production]

Tue-Sat Eves 7.45pm, Sun 4pm

[supported company]

Sun 25 September

Theatre Re presents

BLIND MAN'S SONG

Following sell-out runs at the 2015 London International Mime Festival, Latitude and the Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre Re presents a wordless tale about the power of imagination blending physical theatre, mime, illusions and a live musical score.

Eve, 7pm

Wed 28 September-Sun 9 October

The Theatre Chipping Norton and Greenwich Theatre present

THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE

By Jim Cartwright

While Little Voice hides in her bedroom, locked away with her father's records, her dishevelled hard-living mother wrecks the house, a series of disreputable gentlemen callers come and go, and she sits listening, dreaming of love and the limelight. And then she sings, and everything changes...

Tue-Sat Eves 7.30pm, Sun 6pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm

[supported company]

Mon 10 & Tue 11 October

Reverend Productions presents

JEKYLL & HYDE

Brilliant surgeon Ellie Jekyll is feeling the strain of caring for her terminally ill brother, Simon. Luckily, a newfound friendship with her neighbour, Abigail Hyde, proves to be just what the doctor ordered. Inspired by the Gothic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, this fast paced drama blurs the lines between good and evil, insane imaginings and real life monsters.

Eves 7.30pm

[supported company]

Mon 10 & Tue 11 October

Reverend Productions presents

NERVE

Razor sharp dialogue brings the tale of housemates Sam and Danny, best friend Tess and local policeman Greg to life, full of moral challenges, the anxieties of pregnancy, a policeman distracted by romance and the missing neighbour from Flat B...

Eves 9pm

[supported company]

Wed 12-Sat 15 October

The Flanagan Collective Presents

BABYLON

A government declares war on its people. A queen prepares for battle. Somewhere in the countryside a printing press whirs into life. BABYLON is a riotous cabaret full of heart and soul and foot stomping folk music, about society, the media and what we chose to stand up for.

Wed, Fri, 7pm; Thu, Sat, 8.45pm

[supported company]

Tue 11-Sat 15 October

The Flanagan Collective Presents

SNAKES AND GIANTS

In this fantastical fusion of spoken word, dance and a heavy, soulful soundtrack, a nation loses itself in the crowd, a defiant love breaks all bounds and woman dances wildly on the cliff edge. This unique production is brought to Greenwich by the international award-winning Flanagan Collective.

Winner of the Best Collective Award at Adelaide Fringe Festival

[Greenwich Theatre studio production]

Tue, Thu, Sat, 7pm; Wed, Fri 8.45pm

Sun 16 October

Global Fusion Music And Arts presents

AFRICAN WOMEN

A new play about the issue of child brides by Ugandan playwright Milly Namukasa, programmed to mark Black History Month.

Eve 7.30pm

Mon 17 & Tue 18 October

Entita presents

METHOD IN MADNESS

Theatre and reality blurs for a young actress playing Shakespeare's Ophelia. Amongst the bombs and sirens of blitz-struck London her stunning portrayal becomes the performance of her life.

Eves 7.30pm

Thu 20-Sat 22 October

Richard Darbourne in association with Preston Guildhall presents

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Adapted by Joannah Tincey

Two actors juggle the full gamut of Austen's well-loved characters; they journey from the Meryton

Assembly to the grounds of Pemberley; and transport Darcy and Lizzy from instant dislike to something altogether more different, all in just two hours. Every word that is spoken is Austen's.

Eves 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm

Sun 23 October

Rumpus Theatre presents

THE HAUNTING OF EXHAM PRIORY

Mr Delapore retires to England to restore his ancestral home which has lain ruined for over 300 years but as he uncovers more and more of its past, Exham Priory reveals a truth more horrific than he could possibly have imagined! A spine-tingling new play based on H P Lovecraft's classic Gothic chiller The Rats in the Walls.

Eve 7.30pm

Mon 24 October

Goblin Theatre presents

PENGUIN! ELEPHANT!

Penguin is a little bit selfish. Penguin loves fish fingers, but never shares them. Everything is black and white and that's just the way Penguin likes it. Until one day Elephant turns up. Elephant is big. Elephant is messy. Elephant likes lots of colour everywhere. However will Penguin cope!? With original songs, hilarious physical comedy and dance, for children ages 3+

Mats 12pm & 3pm

Wed 26-Sat 29 October

Little Angel Theatre presents

WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT

Directed by Peter Glanville; music and lyrics by Barb Jungr

A family go on an expedition of a lifetime - running down the grassy bank, wading through the cold river, squelching over the oozy mud, stumbling into the dark forest, then peering into a cave... what will they find? Little Angel Theatre brings Michael Rosen's thrilling and funny adventure to life, for ages 2-7yrs.

Wed-Fri 11am & 2pm, Sat 10am, 12.30pm, 3pm

Sun 30 October

No Man's Time Automatics presents

DIDO AND AENEAS: REMIXED

Fusing dance and theatre with a soundtrack that combines Purcell's original music with a new electrical, beat driven soundscape, this adaptation of Virgil's The Aeneid is performed by four professional actors and a chorus up of community performers.

Eve 7.30pm

Fri 19 November-Sun 8 January

Greenwich Theatre presents

PETER PAN: A NEW ADVENTURE

Written by, directed by and starring Andrew Pollard

After a decade of presenting one of the capital's favourite traditional pantomimes, Greenwich Theatre reunites with Andrew Pollard to bring the boy who never grew up to South London in a high-flying, magical, musical festive treat.

Times vary