Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers.
 Hampstead Theatre in April 2016 | |
| Address | Eton Avenue London, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.543333°N 0.174167°W |
| Public transit | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Swiss Cottage  South Hampstead; Finchley Road & Frognal |
| Owner | Hampstead Theatre Company |
| Designation | RIBA Award 2003 |
| Type | Flexible stage and seating |
| Capacity | 325 main house 100 Hampstead Downstairs |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2003 |
| Years active | Since 1959 (various locations) |
| Architect | Bennetts Associates |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
The original theatre (The Hampstead Theatre Club) was created in 1959 in Moreland Hall, a parish church school hall in Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead Village.[1] James Roose-Evans was the founder and first Artistic Director, and the 1959–1960 season included The Dumb Waiter and The Room by Harold Pinter, Eugène Ionesco's Jacques and The Sport of My Mad Mother by Ann Jellicoe.
In 1962 the company moved to a portable cabin in Swiss Cottage where it remained for nearly 40 years, before, in 2003, the new purpose-built Hampstead Theatre opened in Swiss Cottage. The main auditorium seats 373 people. The studio theatre, Hampstead Downstairs, seats up to 100 people and was turned into a laboratory for new writing in 2010.[2]
In 2022 Arts Council England removed the theatre's public funding.[3]
Artistic directors
- James Roose-Evans (1959–1971)
- Vivian Matalon (1971–1973)
- Michael Rudman (1973–1978)
- David Aukin (1978–1984)
- Michael Attenborough (1984–1988)
- Jenny Topper (1988–2003)
- Anthony Clark (2003–2010)
- Edward Hall (2010–2019)
- Roxana Silbert (2019–2022)
Playwrights
Playwrights who have had their early work produced at the theatre include:
- Mike Bartlett
- Alistair Beaton
- Simon Block
- Al Blyth
- Jeremy Brock
- Michael Frayn
- Brian Friel
- Rebecca Gilman
- Daniel Hill
- Terry Johnson
- Dennis Kelly
- Hanif Kureishi
- Mike Leigh
- Abi Morgan
- Tom Morton-Smith
- Rona Munro
- Harold Pinter
- Nina Raine
- Philip Ridley
- Saman Shad
- Martin Sherman
- Shelagh Stephenson
- Hugh Whitemore
- Crispin Whittell
- Roy Williams
References
- Roose-Evans, James (2009). Opening Doors and Windows: A Memoir in Four Acts. The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-7234-8.
- "Theatre Tickets, News & Guides". Official London Theatre.
- Hampstead Theatre (7 December 2022). "Hampstead Theatre suffers a 100% cut in Arts Council Funding".
External links
- Official website
Media related to Hampstead Theatre at Wikimedia Commons
