Interview: 'Come. Be A Part of The Conversation': Artistic Director Lisa Spirling And Executive Director Hanna Streeter on Their Big Plans For Stratford East

Artistic Director Lisa Spirling and Executive Director Hanna Streeter have announced their first season at Stratford East, with exciting plans for the venue as a whole. The new season includes Here There Are Blueberries by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, BLOODSPORT: After Helen of Troy by Ava Pickett and Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney.

We had the opportunity to talk with both Spirling and Streeter about their first season at the theatre. We discussed what made each of them want to join Stratford East, some of their favourite shows they’ve seen at the venue and all about about the upcoming season!

How did you first get started in theatre?

Hanna: Ooh, going way back! I thought I wanted to be a performer a long time ago, and at primary school and secondary school, did all the drama. I was very fortunate to get taken on theatre trips with my school and my parents, who were very encouraging of the arts, and went to university to do performance. But I quickly realised that A, I wasn't good enough, and B, I was terrified of rejection, so I decided to move into more of a spreadsheet role and make work happen, instead of performing and having to audition and wait for jobs. [Laughs]

Lisa: Partly through school, partly through youth clubs and theatres. My family weren’t connected to theatre in any way, and I had no idea how to get into it, so I just joined every club I could. And then I did a Year Out Drama course in Stratford-upon-Avon. Then I studied it at university, but I found it utterly impenetrable in terms of how you get to have a career in it, so [I did it] through volunteering, making my own work and setting up a theatre company. But I remember going, when I was fourteen years old, on my birthday, to our local library and seeing an adaptation of Wuthering Heights with just four actors by Snap Theatre Company. I didn't know it was possible - I didn't know you could do that, and I was just blown away. And then I was hooked for life!

And what made you want to work with Stratford East?

Hanna: The history and heritage of this building is extraordinary! And the scale of work that we can create, the worlds that we can create in such a beautiful, large, yet intimate space felt really exciting to me. My career has largely been in small to mid-scale theatres.  A lot of focus on work that is around the actors and being close to the action - actor-driven storytelling. And seeing shows at Stratford East, knowing the work that we have created in our history, and the work that we do in the community, it really excited me. But also, Lisa had got the job already, and I really wanted to work with her!

Lisa: And for me, I am fascinated by art as a celebratory act. And a political act, in terms of how it can make change, in quite a populous way. What it is to have a great night out, and that we that we need it and crave it, one of these last great communal acts that we come together. It's just something where you come together and experience something, and this theatre feels like the pinnacle of that. Partly in terms of what it does geographically, where it is in London, but also that everyone who walks into this space for the first time is surprised that it's here, is surprised by how beautiful it is, is surprised - sometimes - by the quality of the work that happens here. I see it as a little chocolate box of surprises and as a gift. For me, so much of my background has been in new writing and bringing new voices through and this theatre as a bastion of change and new work just felt like such a fit. And it knows how to throw a good press night party! [Laughs]

Can you tell us a bit about the upcoming season?

Lisa: Yeah! The gesture was very much open hearts and open minds, and that sense of going, “How do we have global conversations on our stage?” The first piece, Here There Are Blueberries, was conceived and created by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich. I've studied that period of history, which is focusing on the Holocaust, but I had never seen this kind of take on it, which was very nuanced, but also asking questions. Work must and should hold and respect and memorialise to a certain extent. Being set in a Holocaust Memorial Museum in the States, in this moment of everything that's happening in the United States, and looking at the ethics and the drivers and the questions around the perpetrators and also within it, is what really got me going. Almost like a detective story in terms of this photo album that arrives, where this album came from, but also, whose story should we tell, and who should we focus on? 

And this play is like nothing I've ever seen. It's asking the question of the why behind the what, but it's also having the question of whether we should tell the story. And it's a true story! 

And then Choir Boy . . . I'm a huge fan of Tarell Alving McCraney and NANCY MEDINA - I've known her work for a long time. So much of what we're doing is thinking about our audience, holding our audience close and going, “How do we give you a great night out?” Choir Boy is that! Choir Boy is this beautiful story of a young man at a preparatory school in America navigating his identity, his friendships, his sexuality, and within that is this gospel music that runs through. It's a coming-of-age story, and it's beautiful, and the majority of the cast are coming back. It was one of those instances that I went, “That makes total sense to come here,” so it felt really special to have that. 

And then BLOODSPORT with Ava Pickett, I've been connected to the play for a long time. It came to me at Theatre503, and it's a huge, ambitious play. In some ways, it was too big to do there. It's a play that’s asking the question of, “What happens when the woman who starts the war comes back to finish the war?” But for me, it's the politics of it. I'm just thrilled by the idea of that being on this stage. It's a big play, and there's a gesture for both of us about the scale of the work that Stratford does...And Ava is absolutely tapped into the communities that are coming from the very difficult conversations that are happening, and particularly the fallout for different individuals within society, particularly women. And it's a real page-turner! I read probably upwards of about 300 plays a year, and that was by far one of the best things I've ever read. I feel very proud and very excited to bring Stratford!

And what is it like to create a season?

Lisa: It feels like a privilege, but there's pressure involved in that. We talk a lot about how we hold people and audiences. Partly because so much of my background is in new work, the desire to bring in the new work and have that, but also know that we have a responsibility in all theatres - particularly at Stratford - to think about the titles that have gone before and how we can give it the space, platform and airtime that it needs.

The audience at Stratford is like nowhere else in terms of its loyalty, its vocalness, the range of demographics - we are absolutely that world-class neighbourhood theatre that you know is on your doorstep, and the ownership of that. So the desire to serve that, but also the excellence and the quality of it means it could stand up alongside any audience. It's a season that can absolutely hold its own in that, but the gesture is not for that. The gesture is for East London and for our audiences. 

Hanna: The community side of things is also really important in terms of how it connects and integrates with the “main programme” of the work on stage. We have an amazing Learning & Participation Department at Stratford East who do incredible work with young people in the borough of Newham. And, as part of the season launch, we relaunched a scheme called Newham Neighbours, which is about bringing people to the theatre for the first time, creating lunches, talks, events and things that help people to understand, come in and feel welcome in this building. What we're really trying to do is build on the legacy of this building, and create more of a civic hub space for people to gather, to connect.

And a young company is a huge part of that and giving training opportunities. We have a Young Techs programme which is about creating pathways for backstage roles in theatre, which is really exciting. And to echo Lisa, it feels really radical to be working in theatre in such a digital age. I feel like people are craving digital detoxes at the moment, and theatre really gives you that opportunity to properly escape, tune into the story and think and feel in a way that you just can't do when you consume other types of arts. I feel like that's pretty radical!

Do either of you have a favourite production you've seen at Stratford East?

Hanna: I’m going to cheat and say The Harder They Come, which we just produced, directed incredibly by Matthew Xia. It was so fun and uplifting, and it was great that we sold every ticket! A really amazing show to start working here on. It was fantastic!

Lisa: I'm going to go back a bit! There was a play called The Battle of Green Lanes, by Cosh Omar, which was directed by Kerry Michael, who was the artistic director here. I'd been in London a while, but I'd recently moved to Green Lanes and I came to see it. It was my first trip to this theatre. It’s such a cliché thing to say, but it was the first time I had seen a play that was properly in direct conversation with the community that I was living amongst. And in some ways, seeing that play connected me further. Seeing the audience response to it and being a part of that was really exciting.

What do you hope audiences take away from this upcoming season at Stratford East? 

Lisa: I always love that idea that you see a show, come out and have a conversation about it. Or you contact someone and go, “I just saw this - this blew my mind,” or you change a little bit - something in your inner sanctum is tilted. But I also am happy for people to just come out. And alongside the main programme, all the wraparound events! The world at the moment is quite numbing, so there's a sense of escapism. You can walk in that door and you are transported in some way, you feel in some way, you see yourself on stage, or your empathy is turned up a little bit, and we're a bit nicer as a result of it. 

Hanna: Everything feels really different, and that's what we wanted. We wanted some balance across the programme and different voices. And it's fine if some people come to one thing and not the other. It would be great if lots of people came to the whole season and wanted to come back and try something else, something new. But we also do loads of one-nighters and standalone events as well. And it's also okay if you just want to come and see a comedian! Everybody is welcome - just come and have a really good time.

And finally, how would each of you describe Stratford East in one word?

Hannah: Joy!

Lisa: Home.

Mama Goose is currently running at Stratford East until 3 January 2026. Find all the details about the upcoming season here.

Read our guest blog from Duane Gooden who is playing Mama Goose here.