In the heart of London’s Covent Garden, unfurling from the Seven Dials junction, you’ll find an unassuming brick facade with a single word hanging above its door: Donmar. Once an old banana ripening warehouse, it was converted into a theatre in the early 90s, its stage since boasting a host of A-list actors including the likes of David Tennant, Adrien Brody and Samira Wiley.
“I think what makes it so special is a combination of two things,” says Craig Gilbert, the theatre’s associate director (literary). “The calibre of artists that we work with, and the intimacy in which you get to experience their work.”
It’s that very intimacy that enables a more personal, empathetic performance for an audience that is never more than four rows from the action on stage, even when sitting up in the balcony.
“You don’t just see the play taking place, but also the whites of the eyes of your fellow audience members across the auditorium,” says Gilbert. “When you’re asked to lean forward and put yourself in the shoes of one character and their point of view, and then in the next moment to do the same to another character, it encourages a sort of holistic understanding of humans.”
Gilbert didn’t get his start in the theatre business in the way many others do. “I didn’t go to university. Most people who do what I do have an English literature degree,” he says. “I have no greater qualification than an unfinished BTec in performing arts.” But after a stint as an actor and some work in television, Gilbert began to pursue his passion for theatre from a directorial point of view. Now, he’s fortunate enough to work his dream job. “Literally every day I think to myself, oh my God, I’m cycling to work in the West End. My 16-year-old self would be delighted with this.”
The Donmar has a stellar reputation for creating memorable, evocative and impactful theatre on its stage. Until April, that stage is hosting performances of Evening All Afternoon, a “witty and heartbreakingly human” tale of a stepmother and daughter attempting to connect, while later in the year Russell Tovey stars as a troubled police officer in the thriller The Guilty. Tickets often sell out quickly but prime seats can be purchased through Mastercard’s Priceless Experiences.
As well as staging intimate shows, the Donmar engages with younger audiences to help encourage a love and passion for theatre. From touring performances in schools with first-class creatives to offering work experience that opens a door to the many career options within the industry, the Donmar wants to make sure that a new generation of potential theatre-lovers aren’t left behind.
“I am always really enamoured of and touched by our schools’ performances,” says Gilbert, referencing a specially commissioned production that toured last year – Frankenstein Adjusts His Ring Light (and then Starts Dancing). “We took it into schools around our boroughs [Camden and Westminster] and for a lot of the young people, it was their first experience of the theatre.”
The importance of the initiative and its impact on the future of the industry can’t be overestimated. “Maybe, just maybe, you’ve created a few more members of the next generation of the audience that’s going to come to the theatre,” says Gilbert.
And the work doesn’t stop there – through a programme called Pathways, the Donmar takes young people behind the scenes of the theatre industry so they see what it takes to stage a show. “They spend a week working in every department at the theatre, learning about all the careers and opportunities,” says Gilbert. “We have them working in costume, in the technical department and with our stage management.”
Looking back on his own career in theatre, Gilbert has learned some valuable lessons that he hopes future generations might benefit from. “You will need help and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it,” he says. What sets the theatre industry apart is the welcoming nature of the people who work in it. “You can write to people and they will have a coffee with you. That might not immediately lead to a job or an opportunity, but it’s the beginning of a relationship that one day might,” he says.
“And don’t be so discouraged by rejection,” Gilbert says as we finish up our call and he prepares to dive back into the world of the Donmar. “Keep making work, even if there are times when that work doesn’t seem like it will be seen by many people or even the right people, just keep trying to do it.”
Book your Priceless Experience
A night at the theatre is a night to remember – Mastercard cardholders can get access to prime seats at the Donmar through Mastercard Priceless Experiences. Head to priceless.com
