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
Hampstead Theatre in April 2016
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AddressEton Avenue
London, England
Coordinates51°32′36″N 0°10′27″W / 51.543333°N 0.174167°W / 51.543333; -0.174167
Public transitLondon Underground Swiss Cottage
National Rail South Hampstead; Finchley Road & Frognal
OwnerHampstead Theatre Company
DesignationRIBA Award 2003
TypeFlexible stage and seating
CapacityMain House
Configuration:
End On 374
Thrust 370
Traverse 383
Hampstead Downstairs: 90
Construction
Opened2003
Years activeSince 1959; 65 years ago (1959) (various locations)
ArchitectBennetts Associates
Website
www.hampsteadtheatre.com

History

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The original 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

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Playwrights

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Playwrights who have had their early work produced at the theatre include:

References

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  1. ^ Roose-Evans, James (2009). Opening Doors and Windows: A Memoir in Four Acts. The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-7234-8.
  2. ^ "Theatre Tickets, News & Guides". Official London Theatre.
  3. ^ Hampstead Theatre (7 December 2022). "Hampstead Theatre suffers a 100% cut in Arts Council Funding".
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