Arifa Akbar: Nica, what led you to open a new purpose-built theatre in the West End?
Nica Burns: I was invited to meet Derwent plc who were regenerating a neglected corner of Soho. I didn’t realise I was being auditioned but a year later I signed an agreement to be their theatre partner. It’s immediately above three tube lines: if you drill a hole from the centre of the stage downwards, you would be standing on the Elizabeth line platform. The interior design was inspired by a moment I had as a young actor at Epidaurus in Greece, my mother’s homeland. I remember the last golden rays of the sun coming through the trees – I could see stars twinkling in an indigo sky.
