Greenwich Theatre has signed a 24 year lease with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, securing the future of the south London venue, for the first time.
At a time when arts budgets are being slashed and companies are facing grant cuts across the country, the agreement with the council provides the company with security for the next 24 years, on a peppercorn rent.
A peppercorn rent is effectively a notional rent that isn't demanded or paid. In the case of the theatre, it equates to an estimated £2million in rent relief over the period.
In return, as a registered charity, the theatre has committed to continue its programme of outreach and engagement activities, from work in schools to festival events and subsidised ticket price initiatives, all offered in parallel with a nationally significant programme of in-house productions, national touring companies, emerging artist support and family theatre.
The company’s annual pantomime, now regularly hailed as one of the finest traditional pantomimes in the country, provides over 10,000 subsided children’s tickets every year. The 2023-24 production of Snow White received three prestigious Offie nominations, and plans are now well underway for 2024-25’s production of Dick Whittington and his Cat by Anthony Spargo.
The renewed commitment by the Council also offers the charity a more secure basis from which to embark on a long-term programme of fundraising to support improvements to the fabric of the theatre building in Crooms Hill and expand the reach of its activity.
In a ceremony at the theatre on Wednesday, the peppercorn was handed over by the theatre to council leader Anthony Okereke.
