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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

Tides (An Autism Story)

Tides (An Autism Story)

Oct 6 – Oct 10, 2026

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. How do you navigate a world which operates on a completely different wavelength to the one that you’re on? Following its hugely successful and critically...

Sorry, Isobel - A Musical

Sorry, Isobel - A Musical

Oct 11 – Oct 12, 2026

A MUSICAL ABOUT THE WITCH HUNTS OF SCOTLAND Book & Lyrics by Heather Gourdie, Music & Lyrics by Jack Elston Heather has always been told she is descended from the legendary Scottish witch, Isobel Gowdie. However, her understanding of the story is challenged when Isobel herself...

Wicked Fridays

Wicked Fridays

Oct 13 – Oct 17, 2026

Leilani, a lone traveller, seeks sanctuary on a distant Caribbean island. Things take an unexpected turn when she encounters Ariel, the island’s enigmatic sole resident, who appears to have a hidden motive. What begins as a fragile connection slowly becomes something darker and...

The Two-Character Play

The Two-Character Play

Oct 20 – Oct 24, 2026

By Tennessee Williams The Two-Character Play is an intimate two-hander about a brother and sister bound together by love, but also by circumstance and a past trauma that has slowly cut them off from the outside world. Their relationship is tender and fierce, but also codependent...

Kiss In After-Plague

Kiss In After-Plague

Oct 25 – Oct 26, 2026

Affliction and Pestilence are running amok across the land, with bodies piling up quicker than the departure of their last exhaled breath. Amongst them hill dead fleshes, a dark aged romance stirs between Corvin, a body collector, and Mortalia, a holy man’s daughter. Narrated...

The Man Who Thought He Was A Baboon

The Man Who Thought He Was A Baboon

Oct 27 – Oct 31, 2026

Teenage Hugo had no idea that howling at the moon like a wolf would turn him into the black sheep. The brutal punishment that followed from his family became a shame he vowed to keep to himself. Adult Hugo, far removed from his dark childhood, now lives a quiet life with his...

Where Would You Like To Start?

Where Would You Like To Start?

Nov 3 – Nov 7, 2026

'It confuses me, sometimes. I just wanna be and say and do without having to go in the maze where people wave madly at each other and smile, while following their own secret routes.' Frances and Jonah are the happiest they've ever been. With changing friendships, doubt-inducing...

A Night With Nunkie

A Night With Nunkie

Nov 8

A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS & LOST HEARTS Starring Robert Lloyd Parry "Sometimes, you know, you see him, and sometimes you don't. It’s just as he pleases. I think: he's there, but he has some power over your eyes...” M R James first wrote his ghost stories to perform to friends in...

Shh! At The Old College Library

Shh! At The Old College Library

Nov 9

OPEN ACCESS DAY For centuries, access to the Old College Library's collections, including its legendary historical, esoteric, and folkloric tomes, has been restricted. Following recent criticism from governmental, journalistic, and other quarters, we are pleased to announce a...

The Investment of a Lifetime

The Investment of a Lifetime

Nov 10 – Nov 14, 2026

“Every asset must be profitable, even a child”. Euthanasia has just been legalised for terminal mental illness. The nation is facing unprecedented economic uncertainty. And the Evans family are close to ruin. When desperation hits, they must consider where they’re investing...

The Pornstar Martini Effect

The Pornstar Martini Effect

Nov 17 – Nov 21, 2026

Written & Directed by Ella Kendrick On Christmas Eve, bartenders Kat and Tom endure a night of bad music, difficult guests and endless Pornstar Martinis. When a male guest harasses Kat, tensions rise, forcing them to confront gender dynamics in hospitality and their impact on...

Mirror Up Presents: Reflections 005

Mirror Up Presents: Reflections 005

Nov 22 – Nov 23, 2026

Mirror Up Productions host their latest scratch event for new writing with a dynamic collection of work-in-progress pieces. Hosted by Jamie Sefton & Alex McKeon

POSITIVE MALE INFLUENCE (WIP)

POSITIVE MALE INFLUENCE (WIP)

Dec 13 – Dec 14, 2026

By Alice Hoskyns & Olivia Marcus Alice and Liv have very different perspectives on things, being a foot apart in height. But now, they finally have something in common: their dead Dads!!! This is a comedy about losing the main man in your life when you are not one, and how the...

The Dying Wish

The Dying Wish

Jan 19 – Jan 23, 2027

"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 a new case tests the limits of reason, the cracks in the system — and in themselves — begin to show. Following its sold-out run at the...

Articles

Review: WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY, Finborough Theatre

Review: WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY, Finborough Theatre

by Clementine Scott · October 3, 2026

It starts in the claustrophobic, liminal space of a ferry terminal, and both parties don’t really want to be there. Jimmy is a struggling actor on the cusp of a big break auditioning for Mel Gibson’s new film (which may or may not be IRA propaganda); Eddie is a footballer playing for Celtic in G…

Review: THE BROWN SUITE, Richmond Theatre

Review: THE BROWN SUITE, Richmond Theatre

by Aliya Al-Hassan · October 3, 2026

It's not often that Richmond Theatre plays host to a world premiere: Blacbrik's Nahum McLean and Darius Drooh's first long-form dance production The Brown Suite makes a stylish splash before embarking on a nationwide tour.…

Review: PARSIFAL, Royal Ballet And Opera

Review: PARSIFAL, Royal Ballet And Opera

by Alexander Cohen · October 3, 2026

 Corruption, redemption, lies. Parsifal is ripe with symbols and dogmas for a director to toy with and tear down. So why is Evgeniy Titov's iconoclastic staging so predictably iconoclastic? Is it because undermining the rigid morality of a Wagner opera feels like the go-to option in the age of cyni…

Review: HAM, Soho Theatre

Review: HAM, Soho Theatre

by Clementine Scott · October 2, 2026

Feminist theatre duo Hotter Project don’t want you to take their veganism-themed riff on Hamlet too seriously. …

Review: DE PROFUNDIS, The Coronet Theatre

Review: DE PROFUNDIS, The Coronet Theatre

by Cindy Marcolina · October 3, 2026

The Berliner Ensemble returns to The Coronet Theatre to present a solo show that charts the cruelty of men. Oliver Reese directs Jens Harzer in a bitter, relentless examination of guilt, sexuality, and atonement in an adaptation of Wilde’s exegesis of suffering, creation, and injustice. Translated…

Review Roundup: Richard E. Grant & Christine Baranski in HAY FEVER

Review Roundup: Richard E. Grant & Christine Baranski in HAY FEVER

by Aliya Al-Hassan · October 2, 2026

The eccentric Bliss family – Judith, a recently retired actress, David, a self-absorbed novelist, and their two unconventional children – live in a world where reality slides easily into fiction. Upon entering this world, the weekend guests – a proper diplomat, a shy flapper, an athletic boxer…

Review: PASTORAL, Barbican Theatre

Review: PASTORAL, Barbican Theatre

by Matthew Paluch · October 2, 2026

“A lot of dance is Disneyfied. But art has to be challenging.' These are the wise, and provocative words of choreographer Pam Tanowitz. Tanowitz returns to the Barbican with her latest work Pastoral. Premiered in June 2025, the piece uses Beethoven's 6th Symphony as inspiration, specifically ideas…

Review: HAY FEVER, Starring Christine Baranski & Richard E. Grant

Review: HAY FEVER, Starring Christine Baranski & Richard E. Grant

by Aliya Al-Hassan · October 2, 2026

There is a reason why Noël Coward's comedies are still being revived a century after they were written: his rapid-fire dialogue, brimming with vigour and wit skewered the British class system and created vibrant comedy that still resonates today. When they are performed well, there is little to ri…

Review: BULL, Park Theatre

Review: BULL, Park Theatre

by Cindy Marcolina · October 2, 2026

Deafinitely Theatre reiterate that creative captioning and BSL integration don’t only make theatre more accessible, they can also be brilliant artistic choices. After adapting Mark Bartlett’s Contraction in 2017, they’re now tackling his play about corporate bullying. Bull provides a multidime…

Review: WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINA WOOLF?, Starring Gillian Anderson & Billy Crudup

Review: WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINA WOOLF?, Starring Gillian Anderson & Billy Crudup

by Alexander Cohen · October 1, 2026

Actors start your engines. Edward Albee’s masterpiece for four lives and dies on the horsepower of its performers. Albee does not batter you with ideological interrogation. Its sparks fly from watching it performs bash into each other, lashing each other with venomous cruelty in one breath, then l…

Past Shows

113 total · showing 1–10

Squeak - A Rehearsed Reading

Squeak - A Rehearsed Reading

Sep 29

Who falls down the stairs whilst carrying their hamster's cage? Lianne. Lianne is angry that her boyfriend Dan is now spending more time with Squeak their hamster than her, mainly, because she is dead. Dan is just angry. Mandy and Roger mean well.. Squeak is romantic, tragic and...

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

Sep 10 – Sep 26, 2026

By William Shakespeare Viola is washed ashore in Illyria after surviving a shipwreck. Believing that her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned, she disguises herself as a young man called Cesario in order to find employment. She soon becomes a servant to Duke Orsino, who is...

Ghost Light

Ghost Light

Aug 20 – Aug 22, 2026

“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 on the school grounds. Claire and Mary make a pact. Lights out; they get to work. The night ahead will challenge their resolve and force them to...

Spare Room

Spare Room

Aug 1 – Aug 2, 2026

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 the unexpected world of chunder charts, STIs and tangible testosterone, this wasn’t the fresh start Jodie imagined...

Sobremesa

Sobremesa

Jul 29 – Jul 31, 2026

By Agnes Perry-Robinson We’ve all been stuck at dinner with someone who won’t stop talking. One more drink. One more opinion. One more thing they have to say. It’s Alma’s birthday, and her sister Billie has brought her new boyfriend to dinner. Initially, he seems perfect. But as...

Once Upon a Wall Street

Once Upon a Wall Street

Jul 30

Banker by day, comedian by night. One absurdly true story. Jerry Topitzer led a secret double life: Wall Street banker by day, goofball comedy performer by night. As an idealistic graduate, he’d taken a temporary job to tackle a mountain of student debt and through accidental...

chameleon; mirage

chameleon; mirage

Jul 27 – Jul 28, 2026

Written by & starring Lucy Idil Jordan This high-stakes excavation deconstructs the psychological toll of a life spent "masking" across continents and cultures. Having navigated a career in secondary education and unionism, Lucy trades the high-pressure school bell for the...

The Durham Revue: Raiders of the Lost Laughs

The Durham Revue: Raiders of the Lost Laughs

Jul 25 – Jul 26, 2026

Join Durham University's premier sketch comedy troupe on their expedition for a laugh. A whole lot of laughs. Hot off their Derek Award win for best sketch show at Edinburgh Fringe last year, the troupe that brought you Ambika Mod, Stevie Martin, Nish Kumar and many more are...

Have You Took The Bins Out?

Have You Took The Bins Out?

Jul 22 – Jul 25, 2026

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 man’s fresh start comes with bin bags flooding the streets. Will he finally be able to move on from a childhood in care he so...

Off Script

Off Script

Jul 23 – Jul 24, 2026

By Joanna Orlowska Off 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 language she is expected to use begins to collide with her own story — of migration...

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