Hey TP family,

Whilst we know our doors are closed, we’ve been having a little look through our archives and celebrating our achievements over the last year. Thank you for being a part of our audience and seeing the incredible work that has come into our space, both from incoming companies and our own produced productions. Take a little look at our highlights and let us know some of yours.

In February, tiata fahodzi in association with Watford Palace Theatre brought Arinze Kene’s good dog to Theatre Peckham as part of their National tour. Set during the early noughties, good dog chronicled growing up in a multi-cultural community, and the everyday injustices that drive people to take back control.

In July, we launched our first ever Peckham Previews Festival, showcasing work catered to families, young people and avid fans of live performance. We were proud to present companies such as OPIA Collective, Jade Anouka, Keisha Thompson, BattleActs! and JMK Award-winner Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu and many more. Across the week, our theatre space and studios became home to 15 artists and companies and many more young audiences – and all for a fiver!!

The festival also saw some newly developed multimedia live performance from our Artists-in-Residence and showcased a year-long project from the Y&T Rep Company exploring young people’s relationships to the themes of health, race and inequality.

Following the festival, Complicité Associates and Polka Theatre brought their co-production I’ll Take You to Mrs Cole!To us before heading up to Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This 1980s, SKA inspired new musical followed the story of young Ashley who creates havoc by getting lost in their wild, imaginative world. It went on to receive critical acclaim in Edinburgh.

In October we welcomed Theatre Centre with their touring production of The Border by Afsaneh Gray. This high energy, outrageous Brechtian parable explored the lines we draw between ourselves and other people and the absurdities of borders.

Love Thy Fro: The Musical also returned to Theatre Peckham, following a sold-out run in October 2018. The adaptation of Casey Elisha’s debut children’s book, teaches there is much pride to be had in loving the skin you’re in. The company is made up for TP alumni and we can’t wait to see where they take the show next!

November marked a significant milestone in our output as a producing theatre, staging the revival of Anders Lustgarten’s highly charged play Extremism. Set in a classroom, our immersive production stimulated debate around many issues facing young people in today’s society; peer pressure, consent, friendship, racism, and not least a growing area of concern, radicalisation. It challenged stereotypes and the use of negative language surrounding identity based on race or religion. Spy in the Stalls described it as ‘a dynamic piece of theatre’ and it went on to be nominated for 2 Offie Awards!

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Theatre Peckham’s highly anticipated, festive production, and Jack and the Beanstalkdidn’t disappoint. Featuring 24 of TP’s Academy students and a brilliant adult cast, our family favourite was a giant success, ‘packed with community spirit’, disco beats and heaps of 80s flare – not forgetting Marion the cow!

The past 3 months have already been jam-packed with some outstanding productions including Complicité’s studio season with Central School of Speech and Drama and HFH Productions’ If We’ve Never Been to the Moon? We’ve also welcomed some family shows including The Crows Tale and The Naughty Fox.  

Also, in collaboration with Ragz-CV, we launched our first Last Friday foyer event which is an intimate night of poetry, spoken word and interactive games taking place on the last Friday of each month. 

We’re currently working hard with Pilot Theatre to see how we can still bring you the World premiere adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning novel Crongton Knights, so please stay tuned… we’re also in close conversation with some of our other rescheduled shows.

Peace out for now,
Team TP