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.

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: JESS ROBINSON: ELTON REIMAGINED: Assembly George Square Gardens

by Christiana Rose · August 15, 2026

Jess Robinson does not simply impersonate the stars. She appears to possess an entire musical showreel of them. …

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: THE PALESTINIAN CIRCUS: STEP AND A HALF, Underbelly Circus Hub on the Meadows

by Christiana Rose · August 15, 2026

The Palestinian Circus brings culture, community and contemporary circus together in Step and a Half, a production which places Palestinian identity firmly at its heart.…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: AOIFE DUNNE: GOOD GRIEF, Lounge at Gilded Balloon Teviot

by Chloe Buckley · August 15, 2026

What did our critic think of AOIFE DUNNE: GOOD GRIEF at Gilded Balloon Teviot?…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: CHIP AND GUS: A COMEDY WITH BALLS, Venue 45 at TheSpace

by Clementine Scott · August 14, 2026

Earlier this year, Marty Supreme made a case for ping pong as a metaphor for life’s constant ebbs and flows, and an outlet for a particular type of obsessive striver. In New York-based Fat Knight Theatre’s two-hander Chip and Gus: A Comedy with Balls, we hardly need the sport to be there at all,…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: LEGENDARY, Friesian At Underbelly, Bristo Square

by Clementine Scott · August 14, 2026

“I’ve been thinking about my childhood” is how the Singaporean performer Cheeyang Ng begins Legendary, a show preoccupied with the idea of childhood, and particularly with queer Asian childhood. This overarching theme involves both the messages we learn as a child, and what we pass on to our f…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: DEMI ADEJUYIGBE SELLS OUT, Queen Dome at Pleasance Dome

by Chloe Buckley · August 15, 2026

Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out is a light-hearted, sharp hour of musical talent and witty comedy. It’s not a show you want to miss! …

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: SOFIE HAGEN: I THINK SOME OF THIS IS MY FAULT, Monkey Barrel

by Natalie O'Donoghue · August 14, 2026

Sofie won a comedy award in 2015 and she thinks you all stopped talking about it too soon. Anyways, despite being constantly online from 2016-2024, she never saw it coming that the fascists would be taking over. She did so many feminist tweets to prevent it. How can this be happening?…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, Assembly

by Natalie O'Donoghue · August 15, 2026

Krapp's Last Tape is a journey through an old man's life, filled with hilarious memories and hopes for the future, coupled with the mourning of lost love and unfulfilled ambition. This production, directed by Academy Award nominee Stockard Channing and starring David Westhead, tours globally through…

EDINBURGH 2026: Review: HASAN AL-HABIB: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE (EAST) WITH YOU, Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs

by Christiana Rose · August 14, 2026

Hasan Al- Habib has a lot to get off his chest, but Stuck in the Middle (East) with You never feels like a therapy session masquerading as stand up.…

EDINBURGH 2026 Review: JITTERS, Summerhall

by Cindy Marcolina · August 14, 2026

The play delights in its ambiguities. Neither character is wrong, yet they’re both somewhat problematic in their own way. They’re complex and real, yet they become the universal representatives of a broader social discourse. The script succeeds in avoiding any kind of forceful rhetoric, opting f…

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...