What about open air theatre?

There is a wonderful spot of Lewisham Park, a gem in the city, it’s a lawn, in a depression of the ground, surrounded by tall trees.

Here’s two pictures that I took a couple of weeks ago, the top one shows the area as you see it through the trees – the drop just after the trees is of about 3m, gentle slope but clearly delineated. The second photo is of course taken from the other side.

To me this looks like a theatre and to be one it only needs a stage. And some performances of course.

And as I thought this I started thinking that one could have all the local children attending and learning performing arts, such an accessible space.

I see that Lewisham Council is now asking for ideas on how to spend money on “play areas for children and young people” and it also says that “play can also act as a gateway to structured, positive activities” and also “support services for children and families who may be hard to reach through other routes”.

Well, a good way to do this would surely be to place a stage next to a traditional playground, so that children and their families can do exactly what the Council wants them ultimately to do, “structured, positive activities”. And many of the families there fall exactly in the “hard to reach” category, as the Council jargon identifies them.

The Play area in that park is pretty bare, it would surely do with some money, why not also complement it with a performing arts area for daylight activities during the long days of summer?

I was preparing this proposal with the intent of bidding for some of the locality funds at the next Lewisham Central Assembly on 21st July and I also had in mind to contact the housing association London and Quadrant for some matching funds as they have at least 192 tenants overlooking the park since they now own the three big blocks by the park.

But now that the Council is asking for ideas to help them spend £1m I’ll try that first.

The proposal doesn’t stop at building a stage, the stage is only the focal point, it’s supposed to host activities, what one then needs is some sort of residents’ association to build a program and involve the target audience.