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Soho Theatre

Theatre in Soho, London, England

Field	Value
name	Soho Theatre
image	Soho Theatre.jpg
address	Dean Street
city	London, W1
country	United Kingdom
public_transit
coordinates
owner	Soho Theatre Company Limited
capacity	144–160
opened
website	www.sohotheatre.com

Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity primarily based in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, with auxiliary facilities at Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces.

The theatre has established itself as a vital launchpad for new artists and offers commissions, attachments and residencies for both emerging and established writers. It has launched the careers of numerous screenwriters and comedians in theatre, film, TV and radio.

The theatre's programme is a mix of comedy, cabaret and theatre, with a particular focus on new writing and alternative comedy.

Soho Theatre Company

The Soho Theatre Company was formed in 1969 by Verity Bargate and Fred Proud, and initially performed at a venue in New Compton Street. Soon, the company moved to a small basement leased from the Soho Polytechnic, where it would remain for eighteen years. Sue Dunderdale was artistic director of the company for several years in the 1980s.

In 1990, the Soho Theatre Company left its original space, and produced works at the venues of the Royal Court Theatre, Riverside Studios, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts. From 1993 to 1995, it took up residence at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone. During this period it expanded its Writers' Development programme, and premiered the works of over 35 new writers.

In 1997, work began on a new venue for the Soho Theatre on Dean Street, after securing an £8 million Lottery grant and raising an additional £2.6 million in funds. In 2000, the building opened.

Soho Theatre on Dean Street

In 2000, the theatre moved to its current home on Dean Street. The purpose-built venue houses the 165-seat Main House, the 90-seat Studio (upstairs), and the 140-seat Cabaret Space (downstairs). The ground and lower-ground floors are also occupied by the Soho Theatre Bar.

Its current executive director is Mark Godfrey and its creative director is David Luff. Following his 2018 appointment as creative director, Soho Theatre took a re-investment in commissioning and producing new plays, moving towards a producer-led playhouse model. Their creative team includes head of comedy, Steve Lock; associate directors Lakesha Arie-Angelo and Adam Brace; touring producer, Sarah Dodd and literary manager, Gillian Greer.

In 2014, the theatre was fined £20,000 for a health and safety incident in which a stage manager, Rachael Presdee, was paralysed in a fall through an unmarked balcony door on to the stage some three metres below. Compensation of £3.7 million was agreed with Presdee.

Soho Theatre Walthamstow

In 2012, Soho Theatre, Walthamstow Forest Council and Waltham Forest Cinema Trust won a public enquiry securing the future of the Walthamstow Granada building as an entertainment venue. In 2019, the Council funds purchased the building with Soho Theatre announced as its operator.

After a £30 million redevelopment, the venue opened on 1 May 2025.

The Verity Bargate Award

The Verity Bargate Award is Soho Theatre's new writing award with the winning play produced in a full production on their stages. The award was established in 1981–82 in memory of Verity Bargate, the founder and first artistic director of Soho Theatre. It has helped launch the careers of playwrights and screenwriters including Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies), Vicky Jones (Touch at Soho Theatre) and Toby Whithouse (Doctor Who).

The 2020 award is judged by a panel of industry experts including former Soho writers Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Arinzé Kene and Laura Wade, screenwriter Russell T Davies, actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti and Character 7's Stephen Garrett.

Playwrights

Soho Poly period

Howard Brenton
Sue Townsend
Hanif Kureishi
Timberlake Wertenbaker
Tony Marchant
Pam Gems
Karim Alrawi
Barrie Keeffe
Brian Clarke
David Edgar
Mary O'Malley
Colin Spencer

Soho Theatre period

Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Philip Ridley
Vicky Jones
Phoebe Eclair-Powell
Theresa Ikoko
Gabriel Bissett-Smith
Jennifer Kidwell & Scott R. Sheppard
Arinzé Kene
Jessie Cave
Lucy McCormick
Maddie Rice
Sh!t Theatre
Ryan Calais Cameron
Dylan Coburn Gray
Iman Qureshi

Sources

References

"Soho Theatre {{!}} Arts Council". Arts Council England.
"Soho Theatre".
"Sue Dunderdale interview".
"Theatre".
"Past Productions at The Cockpit".
"About Us".
"Soho Theatre to reposition as playhouse and move to producer-led model".
"Soho Theatre's David Luff:'We want our main space to be a playhouse again'".
(20 September 2019). "News: Soho Theatre Announces New Literary Manager".
(17 December 2014). "Soho Theatre fined over fall that paralysed stage manager". [[BBC News]].
"Soho Theatre Walthamstow {{!}} London Borough of Waltham Forest".
"Soho Theatre Walthamstow to confirm E17 as London’s new go-to entertainment destination outside the West End".
"History".
"Verity Bargate Award 2022".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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