Union Theatre (London)
Encyclopedia
The Union Theatre is a small fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark
in London
, England
. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan
who took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse near Southwark station into a functioning theatre. Set beneath railway arches, it is one of the more distinctive theatrical spaces in London.
The Union has a reputation for staging high-quality musicals in its tiny studio space. Some of its acclaimed productions include Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
, Adler and Ross' The Pajama Game
, Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
(an all-male version) and HMS Pinafore
. The Union won the accolade of Best Up-and-Coming Theatre in the 2008 Empty Space Peter Brook Awards. The Union hosted the London premier of new musical Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi
in March 2010.
The theatre has an all-day cafe and a bar.
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan
Sasha Regan
Sasha Regan is an English theatre director. In 1998, she founded the Union Theatre, a small fringe venue on the premises of a disused paper warehouse in the London borough of Southwark. She has been in charge of the theatre ever since...
who took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse near Southwark station into a functioning theatre. Set beneath railway arches, it is one of the more distinctive theatrical spaces in London.
The Union has a reputation for staging high-quality musicals in its tiny studio space. Some of its acclaimed productions include Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, Adler and Ross' The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
(an all-male version) and HMS Pinafore
HMS Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
. The Union won the accolade of Best Up-and-Coming Theatre in the 2008 Empty Space Peter Brook Awards. The Union hosted the London premier of new musical Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi
Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi
Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi is a musical written by Phil Willmott and Elliot Davis. It received its world premiere at the Liverpool Playhouse, England from June to August 2008...
in March 2010.
The theatre has an all-day cafe and a bar.