Theatro Technis £20m redevelopment to create ‘Cypriot National Theatre’

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Plans for Theatro Technis' capital project to triple its size. Photo: Wild Architects

Independent venue Theatro Technis is to embark upon a major capital project that its leaders hope will triple its size and establish it as a new "Cypriot National Theatre".

The 120-seat London venue’s artistic director Kerry Kyriacos Michael, who led Theatre Royal Stratford East from 2004 to 2017, said he felt his entire career had been building up to this project.

"A new independent theatre, of this scale, centring on Cypriots working with the rest of the global majority, will be a game changer for generations to come," Michael said.
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Founded in 1957 and situated in Camden, Theatro Technis has hosted resident companies including Tamasha and Scene and Heard, as well as Camden Fringe Festival events.

Now, a planned redevelopment will increase the main auditorium’s capacity from 120 to 300, and create two brand-new performance spaces, The Stage has learned.

The project is estimated to cost in the region of £20m.

The larger main auditorium will allow for a broader range of performances and live translation, while one of the new spaces will stage cabaret and music performances. The third space will act as a "versatile studio theatre", housing rehearsals and cinema screenings as well as a digital archives of creative work from the Cypriot disapora.

Representatives hope the transformation will cement the venue as "the new Cypriot National Theatre in London", a hub for the more than 300,000 Cypriots who live in the UK according to the National Federation of Cypriots.

Global-majority work will also be represented at the revamped venue, which will also offer community spaces for locals to eat and socialise.

Theatro Technis was founded by Cypriot actor, director and writer George Eugeniou, and has historically platformed work made by and for the Cypriot diaspora.

Michael said his plans for the venue built on Eugeniou’s legacy.

"I’ve never felt more passionate about a project than this one – it feels like my whole career has been building up to this point where I can help achieve something that is important to me personally and the wider arts ecology," he said.

Michael added: "It’s big, ambitious and a little bit scary. All the elements needed to create a real legacy.”

Theatro Technis is collaborating with Camden Council on the project, as well as as with James Houston of London-based architecture company Wild Architects. Subject to planning permission, construction is expected to begin in 2027.