Royal Court swaps stage for shops

The Royal Court Theatre will open at the shopping centre next month

An empty unit in an inner-city shopping centre is to be transformed into a theatre for six months.

The Royal Court Theatre, based in Chelsea, will set up shop in south-London's Elephant and Castle centre as part of its new Theatre Local project.

The Royal Court's artistic director Dominic Cooke said four plays, set between March and September, were about attracting new faces to the theatre.

"We hope it will contribute to creating a new generation of audiences."

'Invigorating'

Theatre Local will open with a three-week run of Random by Debbie Tucker Green, which was first performed at the Royal Court in 2008.

It will be followed by three Jerwood Theatre Upstairs shows from the Royal Court's current season - Disconnect, The Empire, and Spur of The Moment.

Theatre Local follows a successful trial run of Oxford Street, by Levi David Addai, at the shopping centre in June 2008.

Mr Cooke said he hoped the project would be "thrilling and invigorating" for everyone involved.

Relationships

"Theatre Local is a new initiative which takes Royal Court plays to the heart of a community that may not otherwise get the chance to see our work," he said.

"It forms an integral part of our ambition to create unpredictable relationships between new plays and audiences.

"After Oxford Street in 2008, we felt Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre was the perfect base for us to start this venture. It sits at the centre of one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in Europe and we are looking forward to forging links with local people and welcoming new audiences to see our shows."

Theatre Local opens on 3 March 2010 with Random at Retail Unit 215-216, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre.