The hidden 300-year-old mansion hosting theatre by the Thames

It's the last show of the year at the Master Shipwrights House in Deptford, south-east London.

Tucked behind high brick walls close to the River Thames, you could be forgiven for not even realising there's a historic 10-bed mansion nestled between the apartment complexes and building sites.

For the artists and theatre-makers gathered inside, this performance feels like more than just another show.

But as the house looks for new custodians, many are wondering what the next act will hold.

Built in 1708 as the residence of the Master Shipwright to the Royal Naval Dockyard, the Grade II-listed building is one of the few remaining relics of Deptford's past.

For the last three decades, it has also functioned as a home, studio and creative hub.

Willi Richards bought the house in 1998 with his partner Chris Mazeika after they spotted it "over a fence". At the time, it was derelict, flooded and missing floors.

"When we first moved in it was on the at-risk register and it was a wreck," Mr Richards says.

"Now it's a stable, viable, water-free, almost wind-free, house," he adds, with a twinkle in his eye.

The couple spent years restoring the enormous building, keeping much of its weathered character.

With distressed walls, mid-century furniture and sweeping views of the river, the house has attracted photographers, filmmakers and designers.

It has appeared in television dramas including the BBC's Luther and hosted a Vogue shoot by Mario Testino featuring Kate Moss.

But Mr Richards says the building's size, setting and history have naturally lent themselves to something else.

"The space has dictated the use," he says. "It's sky and water and old stories in the very building blocks of the house.

"It seems to attract people who want to respond to it, and share that response with an audience."

Over the years, the couple have invited artists, makers and performers to live and work there, often at pivotal moments in their careers. Among them is Olivier Award-winning actor Hiran Abeysekera, who currently resides at the house.

Abeysekera first met Mr Richards in 2007, when Mr Richards was in Sri Lanka staging a Tamil-language production of Romeo and Juliet.

Encouraged to apply to drama school in the UK, he later trained at Rada and was invited to move into the Master Shipwrights House.

"If I was living elsewhere, I don't think I would be the same person," he says.

"I often think how funny life is, that this is probably where ships were designed and set sail to conquer Sri Lanka, and now I'm living here and creating here."

In 2020, some of the residents of the house founded The Shipwright theatre production company, partly in response to losing work during the pandemic.

The company, run by Joe Winters and Emma Halstead, now produces several shows each year, including a summer festival and a winter pantomime.

Performances take place outside on the lawn or in one of the property's many rooms.

As the search for new custodians continues, the company hopes whoever takes on the house will continue its role as a creative incubator.

"It is genuinely upsetting to think of this space no longer being what it is," Ms Halstead says.

"Those two men have been so generous in a time of extreme lack of generosity in the world."

The Master Shipwrights House has been on the market for several months, with an asking price of £8m - a figure that looms large over conversations about its future.

"There's no denying it's a large amount of money," says Mr Winters. "But we think we punch above our weight in terms of the quality of work that comes out of here.

"We've worked with and developed people just before they've gone on to make enormous successes."

He adds that the hope is not simply to preserve the space, but to grow it, potentially opening it up more to the public.

Despite its size and history, the house is easy to miss from the street, tucked away behind tall Victorian walls.

For now, the lights are still on and howls of laughter rise from the audience as the final show of the year plays out.

And as the house waits for its next custodians, those who have lived and worked within its walls hope its story is not ending but quietly preparing for a new beginning.

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