Smaller theatres have taken a bit of a pasting recently and none more so than the bijou Jermyn Street Theatre which resides under a restaurant on a street more famous for tailoring than drama, just off the hectic Piccadilly Circus.

The theatre had only just held its press night for its production of The Tempest when theatres were required to close.

And if that wasn't enough of a blow, another came shortly after in the form of a severe flood at the venue on April 8 when 56,000 gallons of water had to be pumped out of the building.

However, the team at the venue are hardly the kind of people to cave in in the face of adversity and they've been rewarded with both financial support from their loyal audience as well as emergency relief funding from Arts Council England to help pay its core costs over the coming months.

The theatre's artistic director, Tom Littler, says ...

"We're deeply grateful to Arts Council England for their faith in our theatre.

It has come at a critical moment.

Our audience's generosity rescued us from immediate and permanent closure.

This new support means we can retain our core team to entertain our isolated audience, bring our freelance family together, and raise the essential funds we need to reopen.

We have a long way to go, but the support of the theatrical community and the generosity of our audience means we can look forward to a bright future.

We cannot wait to reopen our building with The Tempest, but in the meantime, we are incredibly proud of the popularity, creativity and diversity of the Brave New World Season."

That season comprises online work featuring actors including Rachel Pickup, Ian Hallard, Issy van Randwyck, Rob Mountford and Jack Klaff alongside new graduates.

Here are the elements of the season ...

One Million Tiny Plays by Craig Taylor played at Jermyn Street Theatre and the Watermill Theatre last winter, directed by Laura Keefe.

This snapshot of modern British life takes the form of 'overheard' conversations that prove drama is all around us.

Now Emma Barclay and Alec Nicholls, the original cast, have audio-recorded 12 of the short plays

They are released in 15-minute episodes on Saturday lunchtimes throughout May and .

#MyTinyPlay is a community project.

Everyone, the length and breadth of the UK, is invited to make their own Tiny Play!

The Watermill and Jermyn Street Theatres have opened the full of inspirations, and details can also be found on the Get Creative 2020 website.

Your plays can be written, tweeted, audio-recorded, videoed, animated, or painted.

The Skin Game is the world premiere rehearsed reading of Tony Cox's play about the early days of plastic surgery, featuring the Hollywood star Merle Oberon and fighter pilot Richard Hillary.

It reunites Cox and director Jimmy Walters after the success of Mrs Orwell.

It stars Rachel Pickup, Ian Hallard, and Skye Hallam and introduces new Drama Centre graduate George Smale.

This costumed and designed reading premieres on at 7.30pm on Tuesday 19 May and is available for a week.

In Praise of Love is a costumed, designed and rehearsed reading of Terence Rattigan's penultimate play directed by the theatre's Carne Deputy Director, Cat Robey.

It stars Olivier nominee Issy van Randwyck and Jack Klaff alongside Andrew Francis and introduces new Guildhall graduate Mackenzie Heynes.

It premieres on at 7.30pm on Tuesday 26 May and is available for a week.

The Wind in the Willows, based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 classic novel, is a revival of Tom Littler's popular production, first staged in 2015 and now reimagined by adaptor Ant Stones for interactive viewing online.

It runs online from 4 to 7 June with a cast of Sally Cheng, Sarah Gobran, Rob Mountford, Jo Murdock, Matt Pinches and Chris Porter.

This is a fully costumed, designed and rehearsed production intended for online viewing, co-produced by Guildford Shakespeare Company, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and Jermyn Street Theatre.

Tickets are on sale now via Guildford Shakespeare Company.

All the above are joining Jermyn Street Theatre's existing Brave New World projects:

A Cup of JSTea offers free phone calls and online social events to isolated audience members, and free pastoral, social, and career development events for theatre freelancers.

The Sonnet Project brings together household names including Dames Penelope Keith and Penelope Wilton, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, David Suchet, Jamael Westman and Aimee Lou Wood with 55 of this year's graduating drama students, to read all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets in over 20 languages.

These are released once a day.

Sing for Your Supper is a mini-cabaret concert hosted by Stefan Bednarczyk.

His songs appear every Mondays and Friday evenings, and on Wednesdays he welcomes a guest star, with past and future guests including Ben Stock, Sophie Louie Dann, Janie Dee and Rosemary Ashe.

Meanwhile the theatre prepares to rebuild after its severe flooding on 8 April, which has resulted in the destruction of its workshop, offices, dressing rooms and archives.

Jermyn Street Theatre is paying artists a small fee for all the rehearsed work.

Actors participating in the Sonnet Project and Sing for Your Supper are volunteering their time.

The online work is currently free, but the theatre welcomes donations to its fundraising campaign which you can make here.

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