Playwright Vinay Patel and The Yard’s artistic director Jay Miller join the Black Doves and Bond actor for the fundraising evening tonight (May 8)
Dubbed The Next Act, it includes a panel discussion on the role of grassroots theatre, followed by an auction and performances from Frankie Thompson, Shakona Fire and Heavadny Johnson.
Funds raised will support the theatre’s work with artists, young people, and the local community.
Then on May 17, Final Call will be the last public event in the Hackney Wick theatre’s current venue before it undergoes a two-year rebuild.
The goodbye party will see familiar faces, former artists, and Yard friends for one final night of performance and celebration.
The venue opened as a pop up in a converted warehouse 14 years ago but has raised more than £6.4m to build a new 220-seat theatre for East London.
Over the years it helped launch the careers of Michaela Coel and Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, but its origins – built by volunteers from reclaimed materials – meant it was sorely in need of an upgrade.
The new building will feature an all day cafe-bar and event space, a Young Artists space, and “high-quality” back and front-of-house facilities including toilets and dressing rooms.
The theatre is going out on a high with its final production The Glass Menagerie becoming the most financially successful show in The Yard’s history.
It has also been named winner of the Critics’ Circle Empty Space Peter Brook Award for the most innovative venue.
Miller told the Ham and High in March that the new venue would be an “evolution rather than a revolution” continuing to support artists who would otherwise not be able to put on their work.
“There won’t be a radical shift in programming and it won’t compromise the values or ethics with which we make work,” he said.
Further details of the final events at www.theyardtheatre.co.uk
