In autumn 2014, Half Moon celebrated the completion of its capital refurbishment project, the heritage of its 150 year old home at 43 White Horse Road, and the building’s 20 years as a young people’s theatre with a series of free family events under the banner of #LimehouseLandmark. These events included a photographic exhibition, involvement in the Open House Weekend, two days of free family activities, an exhibition of artefacts exploring the 150-year history of the building (and curated by the young people) and a finale performance by the Half Moon Youth Theatres.
Throughout the autumn term, Half Moon’s six Youth Theatre groups had explored the building’s 150 year history and worked with historian and dramaturg John Constable. The finale extravaganza, on Saturday 6th December 2014, celebrated the history of 43 White Horse Road through a series of performances by different Youth Theatres, including a promenade performance throughout the foyer and the upstairs rooms of the building by Lunar Youth Theatre.
Chris Elwell, Dave Hill and Dave Shuttleworth talk about 43 White Horse Road, Half Moon and the local area. They were interviewed by our young people.
The purchase of our home in 2008 gave us the opportunity to raise the funds and undertake some much-needed work on our beautiful Victorian building.
Our vision was to create a more accessible, environmentally friendly and welcoming venue, providing improved facilities for our users and ensuring Half Moon remains a vital resource and beacon theatre for young people. To achieve this, in 2012 we reconfigured the ground floor, enlarging the foyer and entrance, replacing the outdated platform lift and improving the green credentials of the building.
This video shows some of the changes our building underwent over that project.