Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing.

Formation of the Company

The original theatre (The Hampstead Theatre Club) was created in a Scout Hall in 1959. James Roose-Evans was the first Artistic Director. The 1959–1960 season included The Dumb Waiter and The Room by Harold Pinter, Eugene Ionesco's Jacques and The Sport of My Mad Mother by Ann Jellicoe.

Temporary accommodation

In 1962 the company moved to a portable cabin in Swiss Cottage where it remained for nearly 40 years.

New building

In 2003 the new, purpose-built Hampstead Theatre opened in Swiss Cottage. The main auditorium sits between 150 and 325 people. The studio theatre, the Michael Frayn Space, seats up to 80 people and hosts the Hampstead Theatre heat&light company, a youth theatre for ages 10-25. The heat&light company produces 12 productions each year which has previously included new plays by Bola Agbaje, Mike Bartlett, Joel Horwood, Jane Bodie, Ed Hime, Nick Grosso and John Donnelly.

Artistic directors

• James Roose-Evans (1959-71)
• Vivian Matalon
• Michael Rudman
• David Aukin
• Michael Attenborough
• Jenny Topper
• Anthony Clark (since 2003)

Playwrights

Playwrights who have had their early work produced at the theatre include:

• Simon Block
• Michael Frayn
• Brian Friel
• Terry Johnson
• Hanif Kureishi
• Mike Leigh
• Abi Morgan
• Rona Munro
• Tamsin Oglesby
• Harold Pinter
• Philip Ridley
• Shelagh Stephenson
• Debbie Tucker Green
• Crispin Whittell
• Roy Williams

External links

• Hampstead Theatre Official website