About Soho Place Theatre

@sohoplace opened in October 2022, the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years. The last one before it was the New London, now the Gillian Lynne Theatre, in 1973. It was the end of a twelve-year project and sits inside Derwent London's £300m redevelopment above the Elizabeth line station at Tottenham Court Road.

The building was designed by the architects AHMM, with the auditorium by Haworth Tompkins. Nimax Theatres runs it, as it does six other West End theatres, among them the Palace and the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue. The theatre is owned by Nica Burns, who runs Nimax.

The theatre takes up the first, second and third floors of the building, with bars on every level and a large ground-floor bar below. Nica's Bar and a rehearsal studio share the fifth floor.

It was built to be flexible. The seating can surround the stage on four sides or three, so each production effectively gets an auditorium built to fit it. That's why the theatre has staged such a wide range, from new musicals to Greek tragedy.

Notable past productions

  • Marvellous (2022), the story of Neil Baldwin and the opening production
  • As You Like It (2022)
  • Medea (2023), with Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels
  • The Little Big Things (2023), a new British musical
  • Brokeback Mountain (2023), with Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges
  • Red Pitch (2024)
  • Kyoto (2025)
  • The Fifth Step (2025), with Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden
  • Every Brilliant Thing (2025)
  • The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (2025)
  • Marie and Rosetta (2026)
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2026)
  • Tao of Glass (2026)

Other productions here have included Heathers, the Death of England plays, White Rabbit Red Rabbit and A Christmas Carol (ish).

Other venues of similar size

  • St Martin's Theatre, 564 seats on West Street, over the Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle
  • Criterion Theatre, 585 seats on Piccadilly Circus, over the Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle
  • Trafalgar Theatre, 630 seats on Whitehall, over the Stalls and Dress Circle

And a few minutes down Charing Cross Road: the Phoenix Theatre.

FAQs

When did Soho Place Theatre open?

In October 2022, with Marvellous. It was the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years.

What was Soho Place before?

The theatre is part of a redevelopment built above the Elizabeth line station at Tottenham Court Road, next to where the Astoria stood until it was knocked down to build Crossrail.

Who owns Soho Place Theatre?

Nica Burns. Her company, Nimax Theatres, runs it.