Blue Elephant Theatre, Camberwell

The Blue Elephant Theatre was founded in 1999 by Antonio Ribeiro.

Some notable past work includes:

• Born African by multi-racial Zimbabwean company Over the Edge. This transferred to Battersea Arts Centre as part of their Time Out Critics' Choice season
• 'Art in the Balkans', the first pan-Balkan season of theatre, film and visual art in London
• Jaan Tatte's The Highway Crossing, the first Estonian play to be produced in the UK
• Othello by Lazarus Theatre Company, winner of 'Best Fringe or Regional Play' at the Broadway World UK Awards
• The World Premiere of The Cave by Mervyn Peake, celebrated author of Gormenghast
• The first theatrical adaptation of Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet
• First theatrical staging of Mervyn Peake’s Noah’s Ark, his only play for children. Shortlisted for an Off West End Award in 2011 for best production for young people.
• Ham & Passion by DeNada Dance was performed in 2015. Choreographer Carolos Pons Guerra was nominated for a Critic’s Circle National Dance Award in the category of Best Emerging Artist for this work.
• If You Leave, by 201 dance company which later became Smother was performed at BET and following an acclaimed sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, it went on to tour internationally.
• Legs by Julia Masli & the Duncan Brothers, performed at Blue Elephant in 2019 went on to win a Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
• Easy by Paradox Theatre was shortlisted for an OffWestEnd award in 2019.

We have nurtured many theatre-makers early in their careers including:

• Jerwood-nominated choreographer (2003) Fleur Darkin, who adapted and directed Christmas Carol in 2002
• Thrice-National Dance Award nominee (2007, 2009 & 2011) Sally Marie, who performed her solo piece The Extra at the Blue Elephant in 2005
• Associate Director at Sherman Theatre, David Mercatali, who made his directorial debut at the Blue Elephant with Paint Over in 2005 followed by Weights in 2007
• Mamoru Iriguchi, who designed our three 'Art in the Balkans' plays in 2005 before winning the Evening Standard Best Design Award in 2009
• Levantes Dance Theatre, who performed I was Engaged to Diego Maradona (2006) and Gin & Satsumas (2007) at the Blue Elephant before going on to win the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award in 2009
• Offwestend.com Adopt A Playwright Award-winner (2008) Paul Morris, whose 35 Cents we premiered in 2007
• Theatre Ad Infinitum, whose debut shows Behind The Mirror & First Class we premiered in 2007 & 2008 respectively.
• Offie Award-winning costume designer Emily Stuart (2011), who designed her first professional show Drive-Thru Nativity at the Blue Elephant in 2009
• Theatre Temoin, whose show The Fantasist went on to sell out at the Edinburgh Fringe and tour nationally and internationally, was first performed at Blue Elephant Theatre.
• Verbatim-led theatre company, LUNG Theatre who now tour their work nationally, had their first London run (as FYSA) at the Blue Elephant and returned in 2018 with their sell-out Edinburgh previews of Trojan Horse.
• Renowned puppetry company Smoking Apples, whose early shows Seemingly Invisible and The Wordcatcher played at Blue Elephant.
• On the Run, had scratch and work in progress performances of their acclaimed first show So It Goes in 2013 and returned with an Edinburgh preview in 2019. 

Please see our Past Programme section for details of past shows.

Former Artistic Director Jasmine Cullingford won the Fringe Report Best Venue Manager Award in 2009 and the Blue Elephant won the inaugural Southwark Arts Forum Award for Performing Arts in 2013.

In 2019, the Blue Elephant won five People's Choice Awards at the Offwestend.com awards, including those for best programming and most welcoming theatre.