Soho Theatre
Encyclopedia
Soho Theatre is a theatre
in the eponymous
Soho district of the City of Westminster
. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret.
The theatre is also home to a Writers' Centre, which provides support to new writers, aimed at developing writers to work in theatre as well as film, TV and radio. The Centre accepts unsolicited scripts sent by budding writers.
The theatre has stand-up comedy
, cabaret
, and performance programmes. It often features newer comedians of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as established comedians working on new material.
. Soon, the company moved to the Soho Poly, where it would remain for eighteen years.
In 1990, the Soho Theatre Company entered a brief migrational period, where it visited the venues of the Royal Court
, Riverside Studios
and the ICA
. Falling into a slow decline, the company was revitalised when it took up residence at the Cockpit Theatre
of Marylebone
, from 1993-95. During this "renaissance", they expanded their now famous Writers' Development programme, and premiered the works of over 35 new writers.
The building in Dean Street
opened in 2000, with a 140 seat auditorium and an 85/100 seat studio plus a small performance bar overlooking the street and Soho Theatre Bar, which occupies the ground and lower ground floors, and serves food and drink from early until late.
Its current artistic director is Steve Marmion, and its Executive Director is Mark Godfrey.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in the eponymous
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
Soho district of the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret.
The theatre is also home to a Writers' Centre, which provides support to new writers, aimed at developing writers to work in theatre as well as film, TV and radio. The Centre accepts unsolicited scripts sent by budding writers.
The theatre has stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, and performance programmes. It often features newer comedians of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as established comedians working on new material.
Soho Theatre Company
The Soho Theatre Company was formed in 1969 by Verity Bargate and Fred Proud, and initially performed at a venue in Old Compton StreetOld Compton Street
Old Compton Street runs east-west through Soho, London, England.- History :The street was named after Henry Compton. who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686...
. Soon, the company moved to the Soho Poly, where it would remain for eighteen years.
In 1990, the Soho Theatre Company entered a brief migrational period, where it visited the venues of the Royal Court
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
and the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
. Falling into a slow decline, the company was revitalised when it took up residence at the Cockpit Theatre
Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone)
The Cockpit Theatre is a Fringe Theatre in Marylebone, London. The Cockpit Theatre was designed by Edward Mendelsohn built in 1969-70 by the Inner London Education Authority as a community theatre and is notable as London's first purpose built Theatre In The Round, since the Great Fire of London...
of Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, from 1993-95. During this "renaissance", they expanded their now famous Writers' Development programme, and premiered the works of over 35 new writers.
The building in Dean Street
Dean Street
Dean Street is a street in Soho, London, England, running between Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south.-Historical figures:The street has a rich history. In 1764 a young Mozart gave a recital at 21 Dean Street...
opened in 2000, with a 140 seat auditorium and an 85/100 seat studio plus a small performance bar overlooking the street and Soho Theatre Bar, which occupies the ground and lower ground floors, and serves food and drink from early until late.
Its current artistic director is Steve Marmion, and its Executive Director is Mark Godfrey.
Soho Poly period
- Sue TownsendSue Townsend-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
- Hanif KureishiHanif KureishiHanif Kureishi CBE is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality...
- Timberlake WertenbakerTimberlake Wertenbaker- Biography :Wertenbaker grew up in the Basque Country of France near Saint-Jean-de-Luz. She attended schools in Europe and the US before settling permanently in London...
- Tony Marchant
- Pam GemsPam GemsPam Gems was a British playwright. The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by major European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.-Personal life:...
- Karim AlrawiKarim AlrawiKarim Alrawi is a British/ Canadian/ Egyptian writer born in Alexandria, Egypt. His family emigrated to England then to Canada. Alrawi graduated from University College, University of London and the , England...
- Barrie KeeffeBarrie KeeffeBarrie Colin Keeffe is an English dramatist and screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for the 1981 film The Long Good Friday....
- Brian ClarkeBrian ClarkeBrian Clarke is a British artist; a painter and architectural stained glass designer who has, most notably,worked in stained glass....
- David EdgarDavid Edgar (playwright)David Edgar is a British playwright and author who has had more than sixty of his plays published and performed on stage, radio and television around the world, making him one of the most prolific dramatists of the post-1960s generation in Great Britain.He was resident playwright at the Birmingham...
- Mary O'MalleyMary O'MalleyMary O'Malley was an Irish theatre director, the founder of Belfast’s Lyric Players Theatre.-Life:At the age of thirteen, whilst stopping off in Dublin, on the way to begin her first year at Loreto Convent, Navan, she attended the Abbey Theatre...
- Colin SpencerColin SpencerColin Spencer is an English writer and artist who has produced a prolific body of work in a wide variety of mediums since his first published short stories and drawings appeared in The London Magazine and Encounter when he was 22...
External links
- Soho Theatre Official website