Southwark Playhouse Elephant is the second location of London’s leading fringe theatre, founded in 1993 as an accessible space for emerging artists.
The Elephant venue’s purpose was to support a variety of performance types, as well as a year-round community participation programme.
We were appointed to design and deliver the specialist fitout of three purpose-built levels – from basement to first floor – within a new residential tower building on Newington Butts.
Working with a limited budget, we embraced the character of existing raw materials and exposed services to focus on the quality of spaces, inbuilt flexibility and an elevated experience for performers and audiences.
The main auditorium was designed with a flexible configuration – including demountable balconies and retractable seating – to host up to 315 people, making it Southwark Playhouse’s largest performance space across the two sites.
A second, smaller studio was designed as an adaptable space for youth and community activities, capable of hosting performances to up to 100 audience members.
A central void within the entrance creates a double height foyer space, providing a generously proportioned café and bar with seating.
Efficiently planned back of house areas include dressing, technical galleries and offices for theatre staff.
By focusing interventions on where they would have the most impact, we were able to meet the full project scope within a tight budget.
Opened in 2022, this new venue has supported Southwark Playhouse to diversify their theatre programme and broaden the demographic of people involved in theatre performance and production.
