Bush Theatre will reopen to the local community this summer by inviting the public into its building

The Bush is back: The west London theatre opens its doors for the local community
Philip Vile
Zoe Paskett30 July 2020

The Bush Theatre will be the first London theatre to reopen its building to the public when it throws its doors open to the local community this summer.

The Shepherd’s Bush venue will open from August 6 with a project aimed at introducing west London teenagers to theatre.

Artistic director Lynette Linton and associate director Daniel Bailey will lead the “crash course”, teaching workshops for 14-17 year olds on storytelling, acting on stage, writing and more.

While it is not yet feasible to stage performances, Linton said that the connection with local residents is a priority: “At the Bush, community comes first. As we journey out of this crisis we are bringing our local communities and our family of artists with us.”

She added that when plays can return, “they will be stories that are as bold, electrifying and diverse as the city we live in”.

Other London theatres including the Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and Battersea Arts Centre have opened their outdoor and bar areas to the public, however the Bush is the first to bring people back into its performance spaces.

A new series of online masterclasses have been announced, to be led by actor Adjoa Andoh, writer Jonathan Harvey and writer and director Rikki Beadle-Blair. The Bush is also teaming up with the White City Youth Theatre to create a new radio play to be recorded at the theatre.

Last month, Bailey curated The Protest, a project in which six Black British artists created videos “lifting their voices in a myriad of ways that mirrors the diversity within the Black community”.