| The Yard Theatre | |
| Address: | Unit 2A Queen's Yard, Hackney Wick |
| City: | London |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | Non-profit producing theatre, nightlife venue, community organisation |
| Capacity: | 110 seats, 250 club capacity |
| Opened: | 13 July 2011 |
| Yearsactive: | 2011–present |
| Architect: | Practice Architecture |
The Yard Theatre, opened in 2011, is a theatre in a converted warehouse in Hackney Wick in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It programmes theatre and performance, nightlife, and works with young people and its local community.[1]
The Yard was founded by Artistic Director Jay Miller in 2011, with support from Tarek Iskander, Sasha Milavic Davies and Alex Rennie. They worked with architectural firm Practice Architecture to convert a disused warehouse into a theatre and bar.[2] Originally intended to have a 3-month life-span, The Yard became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in 2017.[3] In 2016 it took over management of Hackney Wick community centre Hub67,[4] and in 2019 took on The Hall in East Village, London Borough of Newham.[5] In 2024, it was awarded a £700,000 from Arts Council England's Capital Investment Programme to go towards major refurbishment and extension of the organisation's current building.[6]
The Yard was awarded the final Peter Brook Empty Space Award in 2013[7] and 2017,[8] as well as the Dan Crawford Innovation Award in 2012.[9]
Shows that originated at The Yard include Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams, which later transferred to the National Theatre and became the hit BBC show Chewing Gum. Its successful nightlife programme has been featured in national press,[10] [11] [12] and in the New York Times.[13]
Theatre productions include a gender-swapped production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible,[14] the premiere of Pulitzer Award-winning writer Clare Barron’s Dirty Crusty,[15] and an entirely digital day of online performance, Yard Online.[16] From March 2020, The Yard took all of its community and young people's work online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
The Yard reopened post-pandemic with a season featuring Gracie Gardner's Athena, directed by Grace Gummer in conjunction with the National Theatre, alongside Lanre Malaolu's SAMSKARA and Dipo Baruwa-Etti's An unfinished man.
In 2022, they premiered Vinay Patel's reimagining[18] of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, set in space and featuring a fully South Asian cast. In 2023, they premiered James Fritz's The Flea, a retelling of the 1889 Cleveland Street Scandal. In 2024, they then premiered a season featuring HOTTER Project's The Last Show Before We Die, Rhianna Ilube's Samuel Takes a Break in Male Dungeon No. 5 After a Generally Successful Day of Tours about a fictional tour guide working at Ghana's Cape Coast Castle and Sami Ibrahim's Multiple Casualty Incident.
Founder Jay Miller's credits at The Yard Theatre have included The Flea by James Fritz,[19] This Beautiful Future by Rita Kalnejais,[20] The Crucible by Arthur Miller starring Emma D'Arcy,[21] , Dirty Crusty by Clare Barron,[22] Removal Men by MJ Harding,[23] Lines by Pamela Carter, starring Ncuti Gatwa.[24]
The Yard Theatre also programmes nightlife. Notable parties and collectives past and present include INFERNO,[25] Pxssy Palace,[26] Knickerbocker, Queer House Party, Mind Ur Head, T-Boys, GGI,[27] DOOMSCROLL, Popola and Habibti Nation.