Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a One-way traffic, one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing r ...

, 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 performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...

. 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 Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of George V, King George V. Prince ...

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 stage play 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 ...

'' directed by Sally Hughes and starring Alan Cox and Rachel Pickup, and ''Helping Harry'' directed by Nickolas Grace and starring Adrian Lukis and Simon Dutton. 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, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

, '' Little Eyolf'' starring Imogen Stubbs and

Doreen Mantle Doreen June Mantle (22 June 1926 – 9 August 2023) was a South African-born British actress who played Jean Warboys in '' One Foot in the Grave'' (1990–2000). She appeared in many British television series since the 1960s, including '' The Du ...

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

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

's '' All That Fall'', premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2012, directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

and starring

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. 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 Award for Outstanding Supporting ...

and

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

. It then transferred to the

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

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 (''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. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

, 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 Direct ...

. 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, often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, and David Hare. Early years Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, so ...

'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 (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's '' Anyone Can Whistle'' 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), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Tonight at 8.30'', 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 off ...

, the Watermill Theatre, Theatre by the Lake,

Theatre Royal Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacit ...

, Creation Theatre, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, 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 Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

and

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

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 (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, Garrick ...

, the National Theatre,

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was 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 Award for "Exceptional theatre-making during lockdown" (2022) * ''Winner'' The Stage Awards Fringe Theatre of the Year (2021) * ''Shortlisted'' Broadway World Awards Best Performance Ensemble for ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) * ''Winner'' The Stage Awards Fringe Theatre of the Year (2012)

Off West End theatre awards

Source: , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Skye Hallam / ''The Voice of the Turtle'' (2024) , Supporting Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Adrian Lukis / ''Being Mr Wickham'' (2024) , Solo Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Janie Dee / ''Laughing Boy'' (2024) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Ebenezer Bamgboye / ''Lonely Londoners'' (2024) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Elliott Griggs / ''Lonely Londoners'' (2024) , Lighting Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Nevena Stojkov / ''Lonely Londoners'' (2024) , Choreography / Movement , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Roy Williams / ''Lonely Londoners'' (2024) , New Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , ''Lonely Londoners'' (2024) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , ''Two Rounds'' (2024) , OffComm , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , ''The Beautiful Future is Coming'' (2024) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Luca Kamleh-Chapman / ''The EU Killed My Dad'' (2024) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , ''The EU Killed My Dad'' (2024) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , Talene Monahan / ''The Good John Proctor'' (2024) , New Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2025 , ''The Good John Proctor'' (2024) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' (2023) , Panto Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , ''Odyssey'' (2023) , Panto Performance , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , ''Odyssey'' (2023) , Panto Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Cat Fuller / ''Owners'' (2023) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Laura Doddington / ''Owners'' (2023) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , ''Owners'' (2023) , Production , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Fotini Dimou / ''Infamous'' (2023) , Set Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Caroline Quentin / ''Infamous'' (2023) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Jasper Jacob / ''Spiral'' (2023) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Laura Doddington / ''Yours Unfaithfully'' (2023) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Archie Backhouse, Daniel Boyd, Alan Cox, Julius D'Silva, Forbes Masson, David Yelland / '' Farm Hall'' (2023) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , Katherine Moar / ''Farm Hall'' (2023) , Most Promising New Playwright (Play) , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Jennifer Kirby / ''The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary!'' (2022) , Lead Performance in a Play , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Scarlett Brookes, Elisabeth Snegir, Ojan Genc / ''The Anarchist'' (2022) , Performance Ensemble , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Ebenezer Bamgboye / ''The Anarchist'' (2022) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Emily Stuart / ''Orlando'' (2022) , Costume Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Taylor McClaine / ''Orlando'' (2022) , Newcomer , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Stella Powell-Jones / ''Orlando'' (2022) , Director , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , ''Orlando'' (2022) , Production , , - ! 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 / ''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 / ''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) , Sound Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Matt Eaton / ''Pictures of Dorian Gray'' (2019) , Sound 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 Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particular ...

/ ''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 ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson. One of the most widely produced plays in Canadian theatre, the two-man play dramatizes the life of Canadian World ...

'' (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 ,

/ '' All That Fall'' (2013) , New Musical , , - ! scope="row" , 2013 , Howard Hudson / ''Burlesque'' (2012) , Lighting Design , , - ! scope="row" , 2013 , ''Burlesque'' (2012) , New Musical , , - ! scope="row" , 2012 , Emily Stuart / '' Anyone Can Whistle'' (2011) , Costume Design ,

References

External links

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