FROM POP-UP TO PERMANENT: THE YARD TO BUILD A NEW THEATRE IN HACKNEY WICK
The Yard is now here to stay 📍 After 13 years on our current site, we're doubling up and rebuilding a bigger and better state-of-the-art theatre in Hackney Wick.
We were originally intended to be a three-month pop-up and now we're a permanent fixture in the UK's cultural scene. Thanks to crucial funding, we've secured our future. Now, together with the award-winning Takero Shimazaki Architects, here comes a brand new Yard:
◦ Double the capacity of both the theatre and club.
◦ Upgraded dressing rooms with showers, leveled floors, and a dedicated backstage.
◦ Accessible features include a wheelchair-accessible tech box and lighting rig.
◦ An expanded bar, and specialised performance tech to better support the best of London's independent nightlife scene.
◦ Ditching the plastic: brand new cushioned seats in our auditorium.
◦ A daytime cafe.
◦ Sustainability to the front: A naturally ventilated auditorium, recycled materials, and solar power to minimise environmental impact.
Plus, a permanent Yard Young Artists space, replacing our community centre Hub67, which we lost to redevelopment. For the first time, all our youth work will be under one roof.
Today we also announce the appointment of Simon Tate as Chair of the organisation’s Trustee Board. Simon is the founder and managing director of Wetherby, a private real estate investment and development company, and will be leading the organisation through this ambitious capital project.
Simon Tate said, “I am honoured and excited to have been asked to chair the trustee board to support and guide The Yard at this pivotal moment. Together we will deliver a theatre fit to host all the wonderful work that The Yard does - creating productions that redefine what theatre can be, supporting the development of artists, and engaging with the communities of East London. On behalf of the board, I give huge thanks to Arts Council England for their support of our project at this time, as well as to the generous and tireless support of our other principal funders, LLDC and GLA, alongside other private trusts who have supported”
Our Artistic Director Jay Miller said, "For 13 years, the entire Yard Theatre team has poured its heart and soul into the vision of a permanent, state-of-the-art space. Today, thanks to the tireless efforts of everyone involved and the generous support of Arts Council England and other funders, that vision gets closer. This new space in Hackney Wick marks a monumental step forward for The Yard Theatre. It demonstrates our commitment to long-term artistic growth and allows us to create an even more dynamic space for artists and audiences. We are incredibly proud of the journey that led us here, but we're also excited about what’s to come. Watch this space!”
Thank you to Arts Council England, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), the Greater London Authority, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Foundation for Future London, the Cockayne Grants for the Arts, the Foyle Foundation, the Portal Trust, and the Clothworkers Foundation for backing all that we do and securing our future.
We have loads more to share about our plans soon, and we can't wait to bring you along. Until then.
(What a milestone.)
