It's being billed as "London's biggest theatre"... That's debatable, but it's still massive.
A huge new auditorium is coming to North Greenwich. Greenwich Council has approved plans to build a 3,000-seat venue right beside the Thames, like SE10's answer to the National Theatre.
The Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula will be the third and largest performance venue from the eponymous Troubadour, who currently operate spaces in nearby Canary Wharf as well as Wembley Park. These currently show the ambitious Hunger Games adaptation, and Starlight Express, respectively.
The Greenwich theatre will be constructed on currently derelict land, right beside the cable car station.
This won't be some extravagantly decorated Matcham-esque affair. It's a boxy, lightweight structure. According to the Troubadour's website, the theatre will be open in 2026, though the touted nine-month build time suggests 2027 might now be more realistic.
The Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula is intended to be a light, versatile and temporary building. The planning permission lasts for just 10 years, after which it is anticipated that the space will be used for residential developments.
The new theatre is being widely billed as "London's largest", but that's only true if you squint through a curtain of caveats. Yes, it will have a capacity of 3,000, but that's split between two separate 1,500-seat spaces. Considered separately, they'd only be mid-sized. Even the 3,000 figure would be questionable, depending whether you'd count the Hammersmith Apollo (~3,500 seats) as a theatre or multi-event space.
No word yet on what the debut production(s) might be, though Troubadour reckons the twin theatres will support "large-scale, world-class productions and international live entertainment".
