Go-ahead given for London's largest theatre

London is set to get its largest theatre after plans for a 3,000-seat venue were given the go-ahead.

Greenwich Council has granted Troubadour Theatres planning permission for the scheme, which will be built on the eastern side of the Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London.

Split across two 1,500-seat auditoriums, it will become the capital's biggest theatre by capacity, overtaking the 2,359-seat London Coliseum in the West End. Construction is expected to start in June.

Troubadour, which operates venues in Wembley Park and Canary Wharf, said the new development would further expand the capital's cultural landscape and "deliver unforgettable experiences for audiences for years to come".

Oliver Royds and Tristan Baker, joint founders and chief executives of the theatre production company, said: "Securing planning permission for the new Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula Theatre marks a major milestone for us, and an exciting new chapter in our commitment to bold, large-scale live performance."

The pair opened the Canary Wharf site last October, which is home to the first theatrical adaptation of the book and film series of The Hunger Games, while Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express is currently playing at the Wembley venue.

Planning permission has been granted for a temporary period of 10 years, after which the land, near the cable car station, will eventually be used to build residential tower blocks as per the Greenwich Peninsula Masterplan.

Approval was given at a meeting of the council's planning board last week.

Sylvia Williams, who spoke on behalf of the Greenwich Millennium Village Residents' Association, was in support of the theatre plans.

She said it would be a "welcome addition" to the cultural life of the Greenwich Peninsula, and urged the council to add a condition allowing local schools to use the theatre.

Troubadour's chief operating officer Rowley Gregg said it was a "key desire" for the theatre to support the community.

He said the Troubadour Trust used 50p of every ticket sold at a Troubadour venue to support local communities via workshops, ticket schemes for schools and charities.

The meeting heard the theatre would likely take nine months to complete once construction begins in June.

Although the new Troubadour Theatres venue will lead in dedicated theatre seating, comparatively the Barbican's similar capacity is spread across spaces used for different art forms.

Barbican Hall seats 1,943, the Barbican Theatre 1,156 and The Pit 200, giving a combined 3,299.

The Barbican also runs three cinemas: one 280-seat screen and two 153-seat screens in its Beech Street cinema building.

Meanwhile, the Royal National Theatre in London houses three main auditoriums with a total combined seating capacity of approximately 2,400 to 2,500 seats across all venues.

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