Theatre503, formerly the Latchmere Theatre, is a theatre located at 503 Battersea Park Road in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

, above the Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers.

History

The theatre was founded in 1982 as the Latchmere Theatre (the name taken from that of the pub downstairs), an offshoot of the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Ge ...

Notting Hill Gate Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name. Location At Ossington Street/Ke ...

. It is a custom-built studio theatre. The opening production was a new adaptation of ''

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'' is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is a ''roman à clef'', rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follo ...

'', which proved so successful that the production transferred to the West End. In 2004 the theatre was renamed as Theatre503 under

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

Paul Higgins, and became a home for new writing. In 2006 Paul Robinson and Tim Roseman were appointed as Artistic Directors with the brief of developing the theatre's profile. Robinson was sole Artistic Director from 2012 to 2016. Under Robinson and Roseman, the venue saw the premiere of works by writers including Duncan Macmillan,

Tom Morton-Smith Tom Morton-Smith (born 1980) is an English playwright. Biography Morton-Smith studied Drama at the University of East Anglia before training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 2006 he was selected to be part of Futu ...

Anna Jordan Anna Jordan (born 28 September 1979) is an English playwright, director, screenwriter and acting tutor. Her work has been presented at The Royal Court, Royal Exchange (Manchester) and internationally, with several productions of her plays in the ...

Alice Birch Alice Birch is a British playwright and screenwriter. Birch has written several plays, including ''Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.'' for which she was awarded the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright, and ''Anatomy of a Suicide' ...

Charlene James Charlene James is a British playwright and screenwriter. She won substantial acclaim for her play ''Cuttin' It'', which addresses the issue of female genital mutilation in Britain, for which she won numerous awards. Early life James grew up in ...

Katori Hall Katori Hall (born May 10, 1981) is an American playwright, screenwriter, producer, actress, and director from Memphis, Tennessee. Hall's best known works include the hit television series ''P-Valley'', the Tony-nominated '' Tina: The Tina Turner M ...

Jon Brittain Jon Brittain (born May 1987) is an Olivier Award-winning playwright, comedy writer and director who was born in Chester in the northwest of England and grew up in the Netherlands. He graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BA in 200 ...

and

Phoebe Eclair-Powell Phoebe Eclair-Powell (born 1990) is a British playwright from South-East London. Her plays include ''WINK'' (Theatre503) and ''One Under'' (Pleasance Below). As an actress, she appeared in Peckham: The Soap Opera at the Royal Court. Her play Fu ...

. It has won the Peter Brook Empty Space Award and two

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

, in 2010 for its production of

's ''

The Mountaintop ''The Mountaintop'' is a play by American playwright Katori Hall. It is a fictional depiction of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel on the eve of his assassination in 1968. Historical b ...

'' and 2017 for ''Rotterdam'' by Jon Brittain. Andrew Shepherd became Executive Director at the beginning of 2016. In August of the same year, Lisa Spirling became Artistic Director, directing the winner of the 2016 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, ''In Event of Moone Disaster'' (October 2017) by Andrew Thompson, nine years after making her directorial debut ''Cotton Wool'' by Ali Taylor at the same venue. Steve Harper is the theatre's Literary Manager and has overseen the debuts of more than 1,000 first time writers during his tenure. Over 120 debut and emerging writers are staged each year in more than 70 productions ranging from one night series of shorts to full length four week runs. In a two year cycle they read and receive over 4,000 scripts including their bi-ennial International Playwriting Award, 503 Five writers-in-residence, unsolicited and their pioneering Rapid Write Response programme.

Winners of The Theatre503 International Playwriting Award

*2014: Bea Roberts - ''And Then Come the Nightjars'' and Paul Murphy - ''Valhalla'' *2016: Andrew Thompson - ''In Event of Moone Disaster'' *2018: Danusia Samal - ''Out of Sorts''

The 503Five

Beth Steel, Lou Ramsden, Nimer Rashed, Rex Obano, Richard Marsh (2011–12); Brad Birch,

Chris Urch Chris Urch is an English playwright. He trained at the Drama Centre as an actor, before turning to writing plays. His first full-length play ''Land of Our Fathers'', set in a Welsh coalmine on the eve of the 1979 general election, received wide ...

, Gemma Langford,

(2013–14) Brian Mullin, Chloe Todd Fordham, Ella Greenhill, Neasa O'Callaghan,

Vinay Patel Vinay Patel (born 1986) is a British-Indian screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for writing the BBC drama ''Murdered by My Father''. Career Before writing, Patel worked as a corporate filmmaker and then a technician at the London-base ...

(2015–16) Aisha Zia, Chris Hogg, Mahad Ali, Ross Willis, Yasmin Joseph (2017–18), Annie Jenkins, Benedict Lombe, Joel Tan, Jon Berry, Zak Mahinfar (2019–20)

Awards and nominations

2020

Winner *Writers Guild Award, Best New Play (Ross Willis for ''Wolfie'')

2019

Winner *Off West End, Best New Play (Ross Willis for ''Wolfie'') Nominations *Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright (Ross Willis for ''Wolfie'') *Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright (Yasmin Joseph for ''J'Ouvert'') *Broadway World for Best Director (Lisa Spirling for ''Wolfie'')

2018

Winner *Off West End, Best New Play (Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm for ''Br'er Cotton'') *Stage Debut Award, Best Writer (Andrew Thompson) Nominations – *Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright (Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm for ''Br'er Cotton'') *Off West End, Best Supporting Male in a Play (Alexander Campbell for ''Br'er Cotton'' *Off West End, Best Video Designer (Louise Rhodes-Brown for ''Br'er Cotton'')

2017

Winner – Olivier Awards, Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre ''

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

'' by Jon Brittain (Premiered at Theatre503 in 2015 before transferring to Trafalgar Studios) Nominations – *Off West End, Best Male in a Play (Graham O'Mara for ''Punts'') *Off West End, Best Male in a Play (Christopher Adams for ''Punts'') *Off West End, Best Male in a Play (Thomas Pickels for ''In Event of Moone Disaster'') *Off West End, Best Director (Audrey Sheffield for ''The Dark Room'') *Off West End, Most Promising New Playwright (Michael McClean for ''Years of Sunlight'') *Off West End, Best Lighting Designer (Will Monks for ''The Dark Room'')

2016

Winner – Off West End, Best Producer (DEM Productions at Theatre503)

2015

Nominations – *Off West End, Best New Play (Jon Brittain for ''

'') *Off West End, Best Set Designer (Ellan Parry for ''Rotterdam'') *Off West End, Best Supporting Female (Jessica Clark for ''Rotterdam'')

2014

Winner – Argus Angel for Artistic Excellence (''Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho'') Winner – Off West End, Best Set Designer (Signe Beckmann for ''A Handful of Stars'') Nominations – *Off West End, Best Director (Paul Robinson for ''A Handful of Stars'') *Off West End, Best Sound Designer (Simon Slater for ''A Handful of Stars'') *James Tait Black prize for Drama (Ailis Ni Riain's for ''Desolate Heaven'') *Off West End, Best Set Designer (Petra Hjortsberg for ''Occupied'') *Off West End, Best Supporting Female (Fiz Marcus for ''Occupied'') *Peter Brook Empty Space Award

2013

Nominations – Off West End Awards: *Paul Robinson for Best Artistic Director *Best Production (''Land of Our Fathers'') *Most Promising new Playwright (Sam Potter for ''Mucky Kid'') *Best Sound Designer (Simon Slater for ''The Life of Stuff'') *Most Promising Playwright (Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford for ''Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho'')

2011

Winner – Off West End Awards: *Most Welcoming Theatre *Best New Musical (''Porn – The Musical'') *People's Choice Best Female Performance (Jessie Cave for ''Breed'') *Nomination – Most Promising Playwright (Gabriel Bisset-Smith for ''The Charming Man'') *Winner – Off West End Adopt A Playwright Competition –

Sarah Grochala Sarah Grochala (born 9 January 1973) is a British playwright. Her plays have been performed at the Finborough Theatre, Theatre503, Hampstead Theatre, Arcola Theatre and Soho Theatre in London. Her plays have been produced internationally by the Gr ...

2010

Winner – Olivier Awards, Best New Play, ''The Mountaintop'' by

Nominated – *Olivier Awards, Best Actress, Lorraine Burroughs for ''The Mountaintop'' *WhatsOnStage Awards – Best Actor,

David Harewood David Harewood MBE (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor and presenter. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012), and as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Hank Henshaw / C ...

for ''The Mountaintop'' *WhatsOnStage Awards – Best New Play, Katori Hall for ''The Mountaintop'' *Alfred Fagon Award – Rex Obano for ''Slaves''

2009

Nominated – Evening Standard Awards, Most Promising Playwright, Katori Hall for ''The Mountaintop'' Shortlisted – Evening Standard Awards – Best Actor, David Harewood for ''The Mountaintop'' Nominated – TMA Awards, Best New Play, ''The Lifesavers'' by Fraser Grace (co-production with Mercury Theatre, Colchester) Winner – Meyer Whitworth Award, Ali Taylor for ''Cotton Wool''

2008

Nominated – Peter Brook Empty Space Award

Productions

Landmark Productions * '' Wolfie'' by Ross Willis * '' J'Ouvert'' by Yasmin Joseph * ''Br'er Cotton'' by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm * ''In Event of Moone Disaster'' by Andrew Thompson * ''Rotterdam'' by

* ''A Handful of Stars'' by

Billy Roche Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in Wexford and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer with The Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a n ...

* ''Land of Our Fathers'' by Chris Urch * ''Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho'' by

and Matt Tedford * ''The Mountaintop'' by

* ''Salt Meets Wound'' by

References

External links

Theatre 503 Official SiteTheatre 503 Introductory PodcastWhat's on listings from 1996 and current shows
Arts Archive {{Theatres in London Theatres in the London Borough of Wandsworth Pub theatres in London Buildings and structures in Battersea 1982 establishments in England