Step out of the side door of that famous theatre and the Olympic Park is hardly a curtain call away. The main Stadium is just a couple of hundred yards to the left and Zaha Hadid's Aquatics Centre even nearer.
Step back inside this venerable theatre at the moment and there's a maelstrom of political anger at the new Tory Government – threats of industrial fury and anarchy on the streets – the East End about to explode with a potent mix ofTrotskyite outrage and in-your-face disability rights.
Because inside the Theatre Royal we're in 1979. Currently playing is 'Reasons to be Cheerful' – a ground-breaking fantasy based on Ian Dury’s hits and the times and geography that will forever mould the context for his music. The contemporary resonance of his work deafens as it echoes around the enthusiastic audience.
Its creators are Graeae Theatre – the UK's leading disability theatre company, and proud of its one-time patron, Ian Dury. Their artistic leader – and the show's director, Jenny Sealey, is also artistic advisor to our 'Unlimited' programme – the Cultural Olympiad's commissioning programme for new work from disabled artists.
Sealey and Graeae are taking huge leaps forward in parallel with the coming Paralympic Games to challenge our attitudes to ability and disability.
So 'Reasons to Be Cheerful' is not just a licence for people of a certain age (basically me...) to wallow in our musical youth. The earthy story based around a memorial night for a man who died of cancer; the 'motley crew' (their description) of the cast; and the production style which proudly puts disability in the limelight all offer more than enough emotional and intellectual challenge.
And yet the standing ovation marking the finale was one of pure joy at the exuberance of the music, the brilliance of performance and the life affirming spirit that Dury and this show radiate.
So, one more time Ian – hit me with your rhythm stick...
