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.Upcoming Shows
‘You talk about death as if it’s a problem to be solved.’‘It is a problem to be solved.’ ‘But I don’t think it can be solved.’ ‘And that’s the problem.’Simultaneously a riotous laugh-a-minute...
PLACEHOLDER COLLECTIVE proudly presents Rough Cuts: A Scratch Night.New & upcoming theatre, genius ideas and maybe something a bit odd... it all starts with the scratch night.10...
After a successful run with Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Kidnap, “a must-see show” (The Scotsman), by “a superb storyteller” (Get Your Coats On),...
By Mauro Fazion"It's 1984 meets Waiting for Godot!"Rooney and Ingmar are seasoned hangmen doing their best to survive a job that no longer makes sense. When...
Someone sneezes. Someone can’t get a signal. Someone won’t answer the door. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone’s not ready to talk. Someone...
d'après Bertolt BrechtEditée et mise en scène par David FurlongBrecht, le dramaturge allemand le plus populaire, transpose les mécanismes de l’ascension d’Hitler dans le Chicago...
When David’s phone rings, the voice on the other end is one he never expected to hear again. As old emotions reignite he and Amy...
Clothes, cats and counter-culture.Sheffield, 1989. Loveable, eccentric 71-year-old, Hilda, has run a second-hand clothes shop for decades. She does it to make money to feed...
When does self-censorship stop protecting you and start erasing you?Inside a fractured subconscious, a chaotic drag persona and an overprotective childhood plushie battle over buried...
Pearls Recommended is a witty romantic drama about two characters' struggle between duty and desire as they navigate debutante culture in the American South. This one-act...
By Joanna OrlowskaOff Script is a solo drama about a migrant journalist reporting live from an anti-immigration protest in London.As Anna delivers the carefully prepared broadcast, the...
Moving into a new home should be a fresh start. But with a newly pregnant girlfriend, insufferable in-laws and an unwelcome next door neighbour, this...
Inspired by true events, the five-star smash hit play Spare Room follows Jodie as she takes the plunge and applies for a room in a house share. Confronted with...
“I sat up there and even then I could hear the air crackling. I knew then. There was something about you.”A body has been found...
Dylan Ward is autistic. He has his own way of thinking and his own way of doing things, but no one seems to understand him....
Written & Directed by Ella KendrickOn Christmas Eve, bartenders Kat and Tom endure a night of bad music, difficult guests and endless Pornstar Martinis. When a...
by Franco Milazzo - June 14, 2026
Death, it turns out, is an excellent alibi for a party, even one being held in your honour. Legendary magician, beloved family man and complete fiction Dieter Roterburg has sadly died and his wake is being held nightly in the tunnels beneath Waterloo train station....
by Cheryl Markosky - June 13, 2026
Vivaldi's Four Seasons is one of the most recognised tunes going, thanks to its ubiquity in advertisements, as lift music and hold music (which this piece wittily refers to), so it's difficult to hear it afresh. That's what makes this reinterpretation of it, through an electronic remix by DJ Walde a...
by Matthew Paluch - June 12, 2026
What did our critic think of SO ARE WE: LEÓN AND LIGHTFOOT at Royal Ballet And Opera?...
by Aliya Al-Hassan - June 12, 2026
Puccini's tear-jerker La bohème is always a crowd-pleaser for any opera festival. This production at The Grange Festival is the first opera from French actor-turned-director David Geselson who created it for Opéra National de Nancy Lorraine in 2025. Featuring some strong singing and exquisite play...
by Mica Blackwell - June 11, 2026
Whether you grew up with the 1968 film or are learning about it for the first time, this Chitty Chitty Bang Bang proves that with some imagination, theatrical magic can come from the simplest things....
by Clementine Scott - June 09, 2026
“It’s like vultures circling a carcass,” one character in Driftwood says of the uneasy situation in Trinidad a few years shy of independence. This is the febrile setting for Casualty actress Martina Laird’s debut play, a portrait of a nation told entirely within the walls of one Port of Spai...
by Clementine Scott - June 08, 2026
On her deathbed, US playwright Joshua Harmon’s grandmother granted him permission to write a play about their family, on the condition that it be as “brutal and vitriolic” as possible. The result is We Had A World, a Pandora’s Box of generational trauma – indeed, the actor playing Harmon b...
by Aliya Al-Hassan - June 08, 2026
A new version of Handel's 1724 opera Giulio Cesare is always an exciting prospect. The love story between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, with the backdrop of war with Egypt, political ambition and domestic unrest is ripe for reinterpretation. Indeed, Handel and his librettist the librettist Nicola ...
by Louise Penn - June 08, 2026
The Lilian Baylis Theatre and associated spaces next door to Sadler's Wells is full of chatter and excitement on day 2 of the Dance Digital film festival. With short films, documentaries, social media pieces, and VR experiences, alongside networking and mentoring opportunities for professionals, thi...
by Franco Milazzo - June 06, 2026
Mae West famously asked, 'Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?' Well, at the beginning of the relationship, he will no doubt be very happy to see you. But, at the end of the relationship…
And that, my friends, is as good a summary of Mozart’s The Marriage Of Figaro as any....
Past Shows
“Fearless, bawdy storytelling” - The Reviews Hub Maybe you’ve lost your marbles… Or maybe you’ve found the most transformative piece of theatre that you’ll see this year....
Tessa is a teacher… or writer… or teacher… Not qualified for much, at 25, Tessa is a failed fringe writer, a sponge for her partner and...
Written and produced by first-time playwright Camellia Elerman, PATRONAGE is a contemporary retelling of Michelangelo’s life, reframing the Renaissance master through a modern lens of artistic power,...
A double act performed by sibling sensation, George & Lizzy Sunshine sure to leave you in stitches. A positively chaotic comedy hour written by addiction's...
Sid Singh has given up. After 17 years and the return of Donald Trump, it’s time to admit this political comic has failed as both a...
Written by & starring Alexis SakellarisWhat if you got the opportunity of a lifetime... in your tweens?? At age 15, Alexis dreams of escaping rural Germany...
Written & directed by Benji EdwardStarring Laya Lewis (Skins)In a nation where human flesh is the only accepted currency, the economy is sacred and mercy...
A double bill of two original pieces by recent GSA drama school graduates Alex Gannon and Clare Nolan. I Want to Kill Paul McCartney delves into the themes of remembrance...
Based on a story by Giles Fernando and Josh BirdOn the anniversary of Keir Starmer’s “Islands of Strangers” speech, a bold new voice takes the stage.Meet...
What do Sexy KFC, and your homophobic Aunt Sharon have in common? Tammy Woodburn — an up-and-coming musical comedienne — is determined to find out....
Where Music Meets MemoryWritten & performed by Karen CeciliaDoorway to Perception asks the audience to consider music as both memory and as part of their own story. Karen Cecilia performs...
By Rachel FennSimon and Jay have spent years happily working the night shift at Supersave until recent graduate Nadia joins as a stop gap while applying...
By Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated by David TushinghamFive cooks in the small kitchen of The Golden Dragon. They are immigrants. They are illegal. They have no papers. And while they struggle...
Scarlett Smith is an electroacoustic harpist and comedian. Tired of the harps demure, classical reputation, Scarlett’s debut solo show Any Objections? is a surreal quest to prove this...
Trans Visibility Comedy Night Presented in partnership with Quantum LeopardTo celebrate trans visibility week, Drayton Arms Theatre hosts a night of trans people being visible AND...
Wooden Arrow’s The Makers Showcase is an event series dedicated to discovering, developing, and platforming the next generation of theatre-makers by creating a clear pipeline from early...
A Rehearsed ReadingArtorigus' kingdom is in danger. His once tight grip on his beloved realm is slipping through the gaps between his fingers. He is...
Standing Ovation Award nominated Precarious Theatre host their second new writing laboratory after its successful debut at The Hen and Chickens Theatre last year.Come and...
Hot off the back of a sold out Edinburgh Fringe run, Mushroomification: Legs, Legs, Legs follows the unlikely and explosive collision between a man and a mushroom....
This multigenre collection of short plays explores what happens when new innovations outpace human empathy, intelligence and agency. Across absurd comedy, psychological horror, and intimate...
Cellar Door Theatre Company presents an evening of new writing and works in progress.No polish. No filters. Just raw storytelling.Spring is a season of audacity....
“What if he’s dead…And I’ve killed someone.”Doughnut Drive is a comedy-crime-thriller about Billericay-born best friends, Bex and Yaz.Last year, Bex’s dad died. And Bex aint coping...
Written by & starring Owen O'NeillI Could Write A Book About It details the trials and tribulations of writing TOM JOAD AND ME a book inspired by...
A Play About Generations, Gender, and the Words UnspokenTwo generations divided by their ways of expressing love, pain, and hope. In Stitch in Time, tradition collides with...
Occupied Territory a semi-immersive, political allegory that places audiences inside a world of contested borders and invites them to confront the fear of displacement. Designed to blur...
Brazen Hodgepodge is a sketch comedy show! A fast-paced evening of original sketch comedy scenes and songs. Whether it's current events or public figures, absurd...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALTo mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Lovecraft’s seminal tale, performance storyteller Robert Lloyd Parry offers this dramatized reading,...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALA rural town. A dark summoning. A hunger that destroys all. Can you survive the Dunwich Horror?Performed in near total darkness, The...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALWe all know the world is broken. Worse than broken: irreparable. Infested. We need oblivion.You are coming here tonight to summon...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALIn Pickman’s Supermodel, a young woman striving for success as a model agrees to a portfolio shoot with a photographer known...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALOne night, two master storytellers, it's the cosmic horror you've been dreaming of ... unwillingly!Poppy Liqueur and Ben Adam Sohawon join forces with experimental...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALAn online post prompts an attempt to enter a mysterious dimension, confront enigmatic entities, and resolve the fundamental disharmony of human...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALA London Lovecraft Festival fan favorite returns at last!From the creators of the Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, a fresh new take...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALMagic Lantern Call of Cthulhu and the "Night of 1000 Tentacles" - a celebration of New Weird and Decadent, the London...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVALWORLD PREMIEREThe omens are dire. Pestilence has struck these lands. You have been summoned to Court where, according to tradition, a...
PART OF THE LONDON LOVECRAFT FESTIVAL“Honourable members of this court… and the prosecution.Apparently, I stole a dangerous book. The Necronomicon, did you say? My my, you’d...
One man. One button. 19,999 hours of failure-free living.Daniel Moore does not fail. His task? Pressing a single red button whenever it lights up. For...
By Chandler Hubbard“Such is the case with most empires – nothing like that lasts forever.”In the near future, two “compatible” strangers are brought together in...
Written by, produced by & starring Michael Hughes The Last Bantam tells the story of Britain's Great War 'bantam' soldiers, 30,000 men between 5'-5'3'' who signed up...
Mirror Up return for their 4th Reflections scratch event, showcasing a range of dynamic new writing.Cast and creatives to be announced...
Join us for a nerve-tingling festive treat and fear your senses this Christmas as you step into the haunted railway cutting at Clayton signal box.In...
By James TurnerAfter their afternoon lectures are unceremoniously cancelled, three philosophy students in Ancient Athens find themselves at a loose end. Will they spend the...
By Bernardo Santareno Translated & Directed by Sebastião Marques LopesIt’s Christmas Eve at a convent of contemplative nuns, where the Mother Superior lies bedridden. Over the course...
Written & Directed by Finella Waddilove “What if he’s dead…And I’ve killed someone.” Doughnut Drive is a comedy-crime-thriller about Billericay-born best friends, Bex and Yaz.Last year, Bex’s dad...
Written & performed by Oscar Brudenall-Jones‘Yes, he's in a celebrations tub. No, he's not in with the bounties.’Aaron, an unemployed entertainer, has stolen his dad's...
Clown Funeral Collective presents Fires, a new writing night in support of Medical Aid for PalestiniansClown Funeral Collective is a playwriting group formed in 2023, born...
By Oscar Brudenall-JonesAlderbrook North has declared independence. The borders are closed, the ale is flowing, and smoking indoors is back. What could possibly go wrong?When a...
Diaspora Inferno: From My Grandmother’s Kitchen is a devised physical theatre work inspired by Dante’s Inferno and reimagined through the lens of diaspora survival, generational silence, and womanhood. The...
An evening of monologues and duets, presented by Shoreside ProductionsStream of consciousness meets physical storytelling in this evening of new writing and choreography. Mirror Speeches...
Written, Directed & Produced by Miranda LapworthLove isn’t always easily understood.Least of all by those suffering from it. Lou and Jack have a long history with their...
Have you ever wanted to critique the critics? LPTM has run a competition amongst its reviewers for one full length play and three short plays to...
Written & performed by Mark RyderA 60-min one-man show about masculinity and the terrifying power of softness. (Work in Progress)When finance bro Felix has struggles in...
Written and Directed by Simon BeyerTalking To DadSometimes the generational gap is a blessing and a curse - Susannah and her father Peter, attempt to...
Written & Performed by Nathaniel JonesSurrounded by couples, Noah has a tough journey ahead of him on the ark, and must find ways to keep existential...
A three hand horror-comedy pot boiler about what happens when the power of belief goes awry.Join writer Jack Elverstone for an exclusive script-in-hand preview of...
by Madeleine GeorgeWatson: trusty sidekick to Sherlock Holmes; loyal engineer who built Bell’s first telephone; unstoppable super-computer that became reigning Jeopardy! champ; amiable techno-dweeb who,...
Playwright Kevin Lee returns to the Drayton Arms Theatre to present a collection of new short stories.The theme is ‘Misunderstood’...
Written by Dan BlickCastles is an intense examination of a romantic relationship over time. The play follows Jonny and Rain as they embark on their romantic...
Written, Directed & Produced by Heather DavisAt 50, Cheryl thought life might slow down. What she didn’t expect was the rollercoaster of Perimenopause - a baffling...
Paradigm Presents: A Mini-Festival of Rehearsed Readings and Semi-Staged Performances2nd – 4th October | Drayton Arms Theatre | Tickets £5Step into the future of theatre...
How does one overcome the daily nibbles, gnawings, and slashes of the heart?You call your mom. You get possessed by a Leopard. You call your...
By Megan PeaceA twenty-four year old woman is faced with adult life after graduating from university, but the question she faces is unusual - how do...
Sheridan is having a bad day. Her church is closing, Adult Social Care are on her case, and she can’t work out which ingredients she...
By Rose LewensteinPresented by Mary Rose ProductionsCougar is a play about climate change, sex, power dynamics, and corruption. It is extremely pertinent to our current global state...
By Jade AlvaraPresented by Climate Action Productions & Drayton Arms TheatreIt’s 1890. The textile factory workers are all women. They are overworked, underpaid, and fed up...
Written & Directed by Jade WintersBrooke’s friends can tell something’s off — they just don’t know what.One night out, one too many questions, and the...
A new play by Melissa AinsworthThree women, from three different centuries, find each other at their worst hour. Janet is accused of witchcraft in 1661 Edinburgh,...
An evening of new writing from 7 new writers from all over the world. Pending is a programme run by Car Crash Productions, since 2019, to bring new...
Written & performed by Gabrielle BeasleyPART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWS'Every woman is a killer. You just haven't met the right guy yet.'Lily has...
PART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWSFragen Network is proud to present a preview evening of two brand new shows we are taking to the...
Pistachio Theatre presents an evening of Nutty Tales. Following their sold out ‘Out The Shell’ scratch night series, Pistachio Theatre presents the funniest and nuttiest...
A world fragmented. A City disrupted.Two souls reach for connection. Two friends face an urgent decision. With You portrays a bond that forms in a time where...
By Imogen StrachanPART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWSAll In is a gripping, tense two-hander about love, power and the fallout of addiction. Before the new...
Hideout Theatre & Stoke The Embers present a new dark Comedy written by Ellis GreenPART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWSIn a far-off kingdom, King Diadon spends...
GIMME A SIGN! is an autobiographical comedy written and performed by Bailey Swilley, based on a family tragedy and the strange but funny antics that...
Written & performed by Bailey SwilleyPART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWSGIMME A SIGN! is an autobiographical comedy written and performed by Bailey Swilley, based...
PART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWSA gloriously frenetic hour of physical comedy.Bursting with all the whacky dynamism and giddy joy of a Roadrunner cartoon,...
PART OF DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE EDINBURGH PREVIEWS'People can be strange and scary and complicated, up and down like the tides…'Zodwa and Malcolm, two Zimbabweans in...
People in Cages introduces us to a giggle of a killer, a scream of a happy couple, and adorable kids in a deplorable cult. Presiding over...
1880s Afghanistan: Against a backdrop of colonial wars and espionage, Atkinson, a young British cartographer embarks on an affair with Virginia, the estranged wife of...
A Terrible Show for Terrible People is a raunchy, feminist physical theatre clown show with one performer and two spoken words.Described by Fest as “Benny...
“How do you deal with knowing you’ll never get something you desperately want?”Nat and Fin need your help. Since Nat got pregnant by Fin’s (kind...
Arriving at his latest theatre, long-standing pantomime dame Harold Thropp finds that he’s been moved to a dilapidated dressing room. As he paints himself and...
Young and trendy, Spencer leaves home and hits Soho for a whirlwind journey of love, laughter,happiness... and heartbreak. Working in a clothes store, busking on...
DAVINA scouts scallies. Working for the TINA TICKLE EMPIRE shes on the lookout for some good lookers to compete in the sport of ENDURANCE TICKLING....
Players Theatre Company presents Twelfth Night. Fresh from their successful London run of Macbeth, they breathe new life into Shakespeares comedy of mistaken identity, music,...
Young, trendy Spencer leaves home and hits Soho like a whirlwind in a journey of love, laughter, heartbreak and happiness. Working in a clothes store,...
Ricochet Theatre presents a double bill of monologues navigating grief: Intricate Rituals by Seth Douglas and The Same Rain That Falls on Me by Logan...
An alternative to a traditional pantomime, with adult themes, Boys in the Buff is the perfect festive show for having some fun with friends. A...
This #queertrilogy at the Drayton Arms Theatre brings together three radically different shows by recent Mountview grads Jack Donald, Katie Paterson and Alexandra Christle. All...
Entertainment blogger Devin hosts a housewarming at his new, luxury apartment. But when the evening is derailed by the intrusion of some uninvited guests, he...
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