The Off-West End theatre in South London has been the home of fantastic small-scale productions for the last five years.
The Turbine Theatre.
The 92-seat venue, the Turbine Theatre, has announced it is closing after five years.
Situated near Battersea Power Station, the theatre opened its doors in July 2019 and has since hosted a range of productions and workshops, including the award-winning My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?) and I Wish You Well, the Gwyneth Paltrow ski-crash musical, which recently had a run at the Criterion Theatre.
A statement from the venue's artistic director Paul Taylor-Mills was released this morning on social media which read:
“As the landscape of making theatre shifts, without serious investment and philanthropy, a 92-seat space just can’t work and it’s time for me to focus my efforts elsewhere. The Turbine Theatre has been an absolute labour of love. It shouldn’t have worked. But it did and I’m so incredibly proud of the lives it’s changed and the dreams it’s made come true. Creating this incredible venue, with the people that believed in what it could be has been a career highlight and I’m so thankful for the memories.
“I’m looking forward to focussing my attentions on my role as artistic director at the Other Palace where we’re getting ready for the UK premiere of The Lightning Thief. I’d like to wholeheartedly thank our loyal audiences. We created a beautiful little community of theatregoers and I know, like me, this little theatre means a huge amount to them.
“It’s no surprise that many of the last few years’ major Olivier awards were won by shows that started life on the fringe / Off West End. This trajectory allowed them time to play, to exercise the work and to try and make it as good as it could be. Go and support these theatres. They are the heartbeat of theatre and allow artists a safe place to dream. Come celebrate with us this Christmas as we present our final production.
“Thank you to everyone that believed. In the words of one of my most important mentors Bill Kenwright, ‘no risk, no magic.'”
The final production will be The Liar, The Bitch and the Wardrobe. A very adult panto which will run from 21 November - 22 December 2024.
