Drayton Arms Theatre

About the Theatre

The Drayton Arms was originally built in 1860 and then rebuilt to its current design in 1891. Originally a function room the first theatrical use of the space was just after the war as a rehearsal room for many of the actors from the newly formed BBC TV who lived locally. In 1985 The upstairs room at the Drayton Arms was then being used as a rehearsal studio for Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Hilary Wood had recently been appointed head of acting and at her suggestion it was decided to turn the space into a theatre to give the students their own performance space in central London. In the autumn of that year the studio was converted into a theatre with the space being designed by Hilary and Newton Jones the technical director of the Academy. The Drayton Studio - as it was then - continued in use for the next twenty years, with twelve public performances running each year. Many of the students who presented their work there have gone on to real achievement in Theatre, Film and Television. The Theatre was used as a rehearsal space on and off for a few years with couple of public performances for charity in 2009. In late 2010 it was decided to get the theatre back up and running on a more permanent basis. Work was undertaken to upgrade the space and then in April 2011 the theatre licence was granted and the Drayton Arms Theatre was reopened as a professional fringe venue. From Shakespeare to new plays, musicals to improv, classics to comedy, we are always showing something new.

Articles

Review: ANTIGONE, Tron Theatre

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 22, 2026

The battle has been won; the soldiers have returned victorious and the dead have been buried. But not all of them. Antigone’s brother has been deemed a traitor and must be punished, even in death.…

Review: FEEL GOOD, Òran Mór

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 20, 2026

Henry never expected his first girlfriend, Liz, to turn up at his flat. Especially not as a sex robot.…

Review: SIX, Festival Theatre

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 16, 2026

From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red.…

Review: TRANSPARENT, Oran Mor

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 12, 2026

Barry feels like he’s slowly fading into the background of his own life. Clare, after a recent loss, feels like she’s unravelling in hers. A chance encounter in a crowded bar means they both end up on a night out together, where sparks fly. Will they both see what’s right in front of them? …

Review: EMERGENCE, Theatre Royal

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 11, 2026

Enter a mesmerising underworld where human-kind dissolves into something altogether more elemental.…

Review: BURLESQUE, King's Theatre

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 9, 2026

From executive producer Christina Aguilera and written by Steven Antin, based on the hit movie, Burlesque invites you to a club like no other: a hidden world beneath the city lights where sequins sparkle, seduction shimmers and lives can change in the flick of a feather boa.…

Review: READY TAE DRAP, Oran Mor

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 5, 2026

A rabbit, a refugee and a racist get stuck in a lift... That sounds like the start of a bad joke but for high rise residents Lauren, Aaliyah and Pat, it’s a night they’ll never forget.…

Review: ONE HUNDRED VOICES, Citizens Theatre

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 5, 2026

One Hundred Voices is an interactive, audio-guided installation, bringing creative insight into living in the care system. It serves as an artistic act of recognition and celebration of the one hundred testimonies recorded through the Caring Scotland project.…

Review: 1984, Citizens Theatre

by Natalie O'Donoghue · September 4, 2026

The Thought Police monitor every word you say. Children spy on their parents and the Party has abolished the truth. In this totally controlled world, Winston and Julia begin a love affair which catapults them into rebellion against the Party.…

Book Review: SEETHING LANE, by Jack Jewers, Moonflower Books

by Louise Penn · September 2, 2026

Jewers returns to Samuel Pepys as a subject of fiction following his debut novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys (2022). At the start of Seething Lane, Pepys is again looking for signs of corruption in and outside of the Court, but when violent death raises its head, he realises it is folly to t…

Once Upon a Wall Street

Jul 30

Once Upon a Wall Street is a one-man show written and performed by Jerry Topitzer, a former Wall Street Managing Director who secretly led a double life as a comedy improviser. The show blends sharp comedy and personal storytelling to explore the gap between the life society...