Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre.

History

Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti House restaurant and originally the cellar of the Kent & Sussex Tavern up until 1838. The space was transformed under the leadership of Howard Jameson and Penny Horner into a 70-seat

studio theatre A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

. They both remain the Chair of the Board and Executive Director respectively. In 1995, Neil Marcus became the first Artistic Director and Jermyn Street received their Lottery Grant in 1997. During this time, producer Chris Grady contributed to Jermyn Street Theatre's development. Princess Michael of Kent became the theatre's patron in 1995 and David Babani, later the founder of the Menier Chocolate Factory, took over as artistic director in 1998 until 2001. Jermyn Street Theatre has become a staple of London's Off-West End studio theatre. It received a lot of attention following successful productions of ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

'' directed by Sally Hughes and starring Alan Cox and

Rachel Pickup Rachel Pickup is a British theatre, television and film actress. Her first major role was as Kaye Bentley in the 10-part BBC TV series ''No Bananas'', with Alison Steadman and Tom Bell. She has since appeared in many British and American TV sh ...

, and ''Helping Harry'' directed by

Nickolas Grace Nickolas Andrew Halliwell Grace (born 21 November 1947) is an English actor known for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in the acclaimed ITV adaptation of ''Brideshead Revisited'', and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1980s seri ...

and starring

Adrian Lukis Adrian Leonard Fellowes Lukis (born 28 March 1957) is an English actor who has appeared regularly in British television drama since the late 1980s. His most recent notable appearances have been as Sergeant Doug Wright in the police drama ser ...

and

Simon Dutton Simon Dutton (born 1 January 1958) is an English actor,The New York Times
best known for play ...

. In the late 2000s, under the artistic direction of Gene David Kirk, Jermyn Street expanded its repertoire to include revivals of obscure plays such as the UK premiere of ''St John’s Night'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

, ''

Little Eyolf Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

'' starring

Imogen Stubbs Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer. Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by '' A Summer Story'' (1988). Her first play, '' We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined ...

and

Doreen Mantle Doreen Mantle (born 22 June 1926)"Remarkable Highgate Women"
(P ...

, and the postwar classic ''The River Line'' by Charles Morgan.

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

’s ''

All That Fall ''All That Fall'' is a one-act radio play by Samuel Beckett produced following a request from the BBC. It was written in English and completed in September 1956. The autograph copy is titled ''Lovely Day for the Races''. It was published in F ...

'', premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2012, directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

and starring

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

and

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

. It then transferred to the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...

and later would transfer to the New York’s 59E59 Theatre In 2011, Jermyn Street Theatre received a Peter Brook Empty Space Award nomination. One year later, the theatre won The Stage 100 Best Fringe Theatre. Following the rising success of Jermyn Street Theatre under the artistic direction of Gene David Kirk was Anthony Biggs who took over as Artistic Director in 2013. He focused on international playwrights and new works. During Biggs’ time, Jermyn Street Theatre produced a repertory season of South African drama and new works by Jonathan Lewis (''A Level Playing Field)',''

Sarah Daniels Sarah Daniels may refer to: * Sarah Daniels (playwright) Sarah Daniels (born November 1956 in London) is a British dramatist. She has been a prolific writer since her first professionally performed play, ''Ripen Our Darkness'', was given a pr ...

(''Soldiers’ Wives)','' and American playwright Rae Spiegel ''(Dry Land)'.'' Biggs also revived ''The First Man'' by American playwright

Eugene O’Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

, First World War drama ''Flowers of the Forest'' by John Van Druten, and ''First Episode'',

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

’s first play, directed by

Tom Littler Tom Littler is a British theatre director and the Artistic Director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. He was the founder of theatre company Primavera Productions, a former Associate Director of Theatre503 formerly Artistic Directo ...

. In 2017,

became Artistic Director and Executive Producer. His first production was the world premiere of

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chu ...

’s ''The Blinding Light''. This marked the sixth production Littler has directed at Jermyn Street Theatre. Previous credits include praised revivals of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

’s ''

Anyone Can Whistle ''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town w ...

'' and ''Saturday Night'' which transferred to the

. Since Tom Littler's appointment as Artistic Director, Jermyn Street Theatre has been re-launched into a full-scale producing theatre, with eight to ten productions making up an annual season. The theatre's creative output is focused on staging new plays, rare revivals, innovative adaptations of European classics, and outstanding musicals, alongside one-off literary events. Jermyn Street Theatre is committed to ensuring that at least fifty percent of all on stage and off stage creatives are women. In 2018, Littler directed the first complete West End revival of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

’s ''

Tonight at 8.30 ''Tonight at 8.30'' is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward, presented in London in 1936 and in New York in 1936–1937, with the author and Gertrude Lawrence in the leading roles. The plays are mostly comedies, but three, '' The Astoni ...

'', featuring a cast of nine actors playing 73 roles. In his tenure, Jermyn Street Theatre often co-produced with regional theatres including

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to offe ...

, the

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West E ...

Theatre by the Lake Theatre by the Lake is situated on the shores of Derwentwater in the Lake District in Keswick, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1999, replacing the mobile Century Theatre, and was made possible by an Arts Council Lottery Fund Grant. From May to ...

, Theatre Royal Bath, Creation Theatre, the

Stephen Joseph Theatre The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on ...

, and Guildford Shakespeare Company. During its closure over lockdown in 2020, the theatre responded with its ''Brave New World'' season of digital work, including the complete cycle of Shakespeare's sonnets performed by a mixture of graduating drama students and household names including

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

and

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. Known for her comedic and dramatic roles in film and television, she has received various accolades, including an Academy A ...

and the acclaimed ''15 Heroines'' with DigitalTheatre+ featuring adaptations of Ovid from writers including Juliet Gilkes Romero and

Timberlake Wertenbaker Timberlake Wertenbaker is a British-based playwright, screenplay writer, and translator who has written plays for the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and others. She has been described in ''The Washington Post'' as "the doyenne of po ...

. In 2021, they won the Stage Award for Fringe Theatre of the Year, making it the first theatre to win the award twice. Their contribution to groundbreaking digital work, and support for theatre freelancers during lockdown was recognised at the 2022 Critics Circle Awards, where they won an award for "Exceptional theatre-making during lockdown" alongside

Nica Burns Lounica Maureen Patricia "Nica" Burns OBE (born August 1954) is a London theatre producer and co-owner with her business partner Max Weitzenhoffer of the Nimax Theatres group, comprising six West End theatres: the Palace, Lyric, Apollo, Ga ...

, the National Theatre,

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, and Original Theatre Company. In his final year as Artistic Director, Littler won the OffWestEnd Award for Best Artistic Director 2022. In autumn 2022 Stella Powell-Jones and David Doyle succeeded Tom Littler as Artistic Director and Executive Producer respectively, working alongside Executive Director Penny Horner to form a management team of three.

Awards and nominations

* ''Winner''

The Critics Circle The Critics' Circle is the national Professional association, professional body of United Kingdom, British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics ...

Award for "Exceptional theatre-making during lockdown" (2022) * ''Winner'' OffWestEnd Award for Best Artistic Director (2022) * ''Winner''

The Stage Awards ''The Stage'' Awards are theatre awards created by ''The Stage'' to recognise and celebrate theatrical achievements across the UK and internationally. Established in 2011, the awards recognise accomplishments by West End theatres, regional theatr ...

Fringe Theatre of the Year (2021) * ''Shortlisted'' Broadway World Awards Best Performance Ensemble for ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) * ''Winner''

Fringe Theatre of the Year (2012)

Off West End theatre awards

, - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Kelly Burke, Natasha Byrne, Mark Huckett, Alyssa Simon / ''The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein'' (2022) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Machiko Weston / ''The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein'' (2022) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Matthew Parker / '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Director (Musical) , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Bart Lambert, Jack Reitman, Benjamin McQuigg / '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Rachael Ryan / '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Chris McDonnell / '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Lighting Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Simon Arrowsmith / '' Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story'' (2022) , Sound Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Tom Littler , Artistic Director (Special Award) , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Justin Teasdale, Thom Townsend & Jamie Kubisch Wiles / ''Lone Flyer'' (2021) , Sound Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Hannah Edwards / ''Lone Flyer'' (2021) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Benedict Salter / ''Lone Flyer'' (2021) , Supporting Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Lucy Betts / ''Lone Flyer'' (2021) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , ''Footfalls & Rockaby'' (2021) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , ''Lone Flyer'' (2021) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , ''This Beautiful Future'' (2021) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2021 , Michael Pennington / ''The Tempest'' (2020) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Stanton Wright, Helen Reuben, Augustina Seymour, Richard Keightley / ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Gavin Fowler, Hannah Morrish, Miranda Foster, Robert Mountford, Stefan Bednarczyk, Ceri-Lyn Cissone / ''All’s Well That Ends Well'' (2019) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Sally Scott / ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Female Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 ,

Naomi Frederick Naomi Frederick is an English actress and graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is notable for stage work and has also appeared on radio, appearing in 2012 adaptations of ''Twelfth Night'' and '' Sparkling Cyanide''. Her television ...

/ ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Female Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Emma Barclay / ''One Million Tiny Plays About Britain'' (2019) , Female Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Malcolm Rennie / ''Shakleton’s Carpenter'' (2019) , Male Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Tom Littler / ''All’s Well That Ends Well'' (2019) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Trevor Nunn / ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Tom Littler / ''Creditors'' (2019) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Laura Keefe / ''One Million Tiny Plays About Britain'' (2019) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , ''All’s Well That Ends Well'' (2019) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Robert Jones / ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Costume Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Emily Stuart / ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) , Costume Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 ,

Paul Pyant Paul Pyant (born 22 July 1953) is a British lighting designer, whose designs have been featured in the West End, on Broadway and in opera houses around the world. He has been nominated for several Olivier Awards and Tony Awards, winning the Ol ...

/ ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Lighting Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Robert Jones / ''Agnes Colander'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , William Reynolds / ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Neil Irish and Annet Black / ''All’s Well That Ends Well'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Ceci Calf / ''One Million Tiny Plays About Britain'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Matt Eaton / ''All’s Well That Ends Well'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Matt Eaton / ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Sinead Cusack / ''Stitchers'' (2018) , Female Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 ,

Miquel Brown Miquel Brown (born Michael Brown February 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress, disco/soul singer, former dancer and music video director, in the 1970s and 1980s, most popular for the songs "Close to Perfection" and the Hi-NRG songs " So Many Men – ...

/ ''The Play About My Dad'' (2018) , Female Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Elizabeth Mansfield / ''Hymn To Love'' (2018) , Female Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , '' Tonight at 8:30'' (2018) , Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , ''Burke and Hare'' (2018) , Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Tom Littler / '' Tonight at 8:30'' (2018) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Abigail Pickard Price / ''Burke and Hare'' (2018) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , '' Tonight at 8:30'' (2018) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Max Pappenheim / ''Stitchers'' (2018) , Sound Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Louie Whitemore / '' Tonight At 8:30'' (2018) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Liz Cooke / ''Stitchers'' (2018) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Daisy Blower / '' Billy Bishop Goes To War'' (2018) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2018 , Stephen Unwin / ''All Our Children'' (2017) , Most Promising New Playwright , , - ! scope="row" , 2016 , Neil Irish / ''First Episode'' (2015) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2016 , Tim Sanders and Charles Miller / '' Return of the Soldier'' (2015) , New Musical , , - ! scope="row" , 2014 ,

/ ''

'' (2013) , New Musical , , - ! scope="row" , 2013 , Howard Hudson / ''Burlesque'' (2012) , Lighting Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2013 , ''Burlesque'' (2012) , New Musical , , - ! scope="row" , 2012 , Emily Stuart / ''

'' (2011) , Costume Design ,

References

External links

Jermyn Street Theatre Official Site
{{Authority control Theatres completed in 1994 Studio theatres in London Theatres in the City of Westminster 1994 establishments in England