A small theatre with a big heart | Southwark Playhouse

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all happy and healthy! With two shows I can easily access at the moment being open, I’ve naturally done what I do best which is go and see one on repeat because it is so good…it almost feels like old times. The opening of Jesus Christ Superstar (although we are nearer to closing now, but we don’t talk about that) does mean I have been a little distracted, and with working as well it means my blog has taken a bit of a backseat…but anyway, here we go again on the writing front. I do have another blog post idea, which I hope to write some point in the near future…but in the meantime, it’s a visit to another theatre as a part of the More Than Just a Building series I started.

(Side note – I literally have no idea if people are enjoying this series, but I will carry on until people tell me they hate it and I need to stop!)

So today’s theatre is the beautiful and cosy Southwark Playhouse.

I love this theatre. SO much. I was quite late to the party visiting this venue…I always saw great shows going in there but never actually visited myself until I went to go and see Benjamin Button: The Musical. That show very quickly became one of my favourite musicals, and since then I’ve just kept going back. Since Benjamin Button: The Musical, I have seen Afterglow, Cops, Lipstick and I am hoping to return in Autumn to FINALLY see The Last 5 Years!

This theatre has very quickly become one of my favourite venues. It has such a warm, friendly feel to it. The front of house staff are so lovely – as someone who goes to the theatre alone quite a lot – especially when I am reviewing, I find it very sweet that whenever I have gone to the Southwark Playhouse, the staff have always seemed to go out of their way to smile, chat and be more than just a friendly face to me.

If you have never been here – first of all, change that as soon as possible. Secondly – the Southwark Playhouse is made up of two theatres in one venue: the big and the little…although neither theatre is that big. The whole venue has a really relaxed atmosphere, with the bar and both theatres, and whenever I pay the venue a visit, a comforting and content feeling just seems to wash over me. The two theatres within the venue are ideal for shows that work well with a feeling of intimacy between the audience and the cast and the show itself; with Benjamin Button especially, it didn’t feel so much as a show as opposed to just being sat down and being told a story. It was beautiful and the intimacy made the show even more impactful and special.

The homely, friendly and intimate atmosphere is part of the reason I like this theatre so much, but the shows that are put on there is another. The shows at the Southwark Playhouse I have seen have always so much heart and soul put into them, and they are such interesting, complex stories with so much depth to them. They may not have huge amounts of space like other theatre venues, but that is far from an obstacle with the shows put on there. They use the space for every show so creativley, expanding imaginations and making you forget it’s a rather small space. Reminding me of the real magic of theatre, I get so lost in every show I see there that the 4 walls seem to just melt away and I’m completely sucked into the stories being presented before me. 

The next reason I utterly adore this theatre..it is a venue where there is no feeling of elitism – from cast, FOH, or audiences. In fact, I remember I was attending a press night there, and there were people in the audience who I’d seen as cast members in a different show on the west end. Instead of feeling imposter syndrome, or not good enough to sit in the same space as them…I was able to talk to them normally – one audience member to another. As someone who used to be – and still is – a massive theatre fan, and have now had the fortune of turning my passion into something I can write about…I think it’s very easy for me to convince myself that I’m not on the same level as any cast or creatives…but on this press night, when they showed a genuine interest in my writing and my theatre experiences…it was such a pleasent experience. To not feel like there is a hierarchy between cast and creatives and audiene members, to just all be in one space enjoying a show and talk to each other as the equals we all are. This is something I’m sure would be the case anywhere, but I think this feeling is heightened in the Southwark playhouse because – as I said above – it is an intimate venue…but furthermore, it is the venue I’ve felt there is no elitism between people to this much of an extent where it is actually noticeable (to me anyway). It is wonderfully refreshing.  

Not only this, when visiting the theatre, you can just tell that everyone loves and has such a passion for theatre and the arts. Again, that may be that cast or creatives working on the show currently running there, the FOH or staff of the building or the audience members watching a show. That positive energy of everyone loving theatre is infectious and creates such a buzz and feeling of excitement in the venue.

So there we have it. The Southwark Playhouse. If you’ve not been there, I highly reccomend a trip. Whenever a show is announced at the Southwark playhouse, whether I know what it is or not…I am determined to try and see it. It gives me a chance to go to one of the friendliest venues in London, and see a show I know will have a lasting impact. It may be a small theatre but it has a big heart. I can’t wait to go back.