Jermyn Street Theatre

Jermyn Street opened in August 1994. Formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti House restaurant and originally the cellar of the Kent & Sussex Tavern up until 1838.[1] The space was transformed under the leadership of Howard Jameson and Penny Horner into a 70-seat studio theatre.[2] They both remain the Chair of the Board and Executive Director respectively. In 1995, Neil Marcus[3] became the first Artistic Director and Jermyn Street received their Lottery Grant in 1997.[4] During this time, producer Chris Grady contributed to Jermyn Street Theatre's development. Princess Michael of Kent became the theatre's patron in 1995[5] and David Babani,[6] 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 directed by Sally Hughes and starring Alan Cox and Rachel Pickup,[7] and Helping Harry directed by Nickolas Grace and starring Adrian Lukis and Simon Dutton.[8] In the late 2000s, under the artistic direction of Gene David Kirk,[9] Jermyn Street expanded its repertoire to include revivals of obscure plays such as the UK premiere of St John’s Night by Henrik Ibsen,[10] Little Eyolf starring Imogen Stubbs and Doreen Mantle by Henrik Ibsen,[11] and the postwar classic The River Line by Charles Morgan.[12] Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall, premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2012, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon.[13] It then transferred to the Arts Theatre[14] and later would transfer to the New York’s 59E59 Theatre[15] 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.[5]

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.[16] 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)[17], Sarah Daniels (Soldiers’ Wives)[18], and American playwright Rae Spiegel (Dry Land)[19]. Biggs also revived The First Man by American playwright Eugene O’Neill,[20] First World War drama Flowers of the Forest by John Van Druten,[21] and First Episode, Terence Rattigan’s first play, directed by Tom Littler.[22]

In 2017, Tom Littler became Artistic Director.[23] His first production was the world premiere of Howard Brenton’s The Blinding Light[24]. This marked the sixth production Littler has directed at Jermyn Street Theatre. Previous credits include praised revivals of Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle[25] and Saturday Night[26] which transferred to the Arts Theatre.[27] Since Tom Littler's appointment as Artistic Director, Jermyn Street Theatre has been re-launched into a full-scale producing theatre,[23] 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.[5] Jermyn Street Theatre is committed to ensuring that at least fifty percent of all on stage and off stage creatives are women.[5]

In 2018, Littler directed the first complete West End revival of Noël Coward’s Tonight at 8.30,[28] featuring a cast of nine actors playing 73 roles.[29] Jermyn Street Theatre often co-produces with regional theatres including York Theatre Royal, the Watermill Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, Theatre Royal Bath, Creation Theatre, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, and Guildford Shakespeare Company.

The Outsiders Season

• Cancelling Socrates by Tom Littler (2 June – July 2022)
• Orlando by Stella Powell-Jones (28 April – 28 May 2022)
• The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein by Edward Einhorn (17 March – 16 April 2022)
• Rain and Zoe Save the World by Hersh Ellis (10 February – 12 March 2022)
• Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story by Matthew Parker (13 January – 5 February 2022)

The Encounters Season

• The Tempest by Tom Littler (25 November – 22 December 2021)
• Footfalls & Rockaby by Richard Beecham (3 November – 20 November 2021)
• A Splinter of Ice by Alan Strachan with Alastair Whatley (14 October – 30 October 2021

The Memories Season

• One Million Tiny Plays About Britain by Craig Taylor (4 December 2019 – 11 January 2020)
• All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (6 November – 30 November 2019)
• The Ice Cream Boys by Gail Louw (9 October – 2 November 2019)
• For Services Rendered by W. Somerset Maugham (2 September – 5 October 2019)

The Portrait Season

• Pictures of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, adapted by Lucy Shaw (5 June – 6 July 2019)
• Miss Julie by August Strindberg, adapted by Howard Brenton (25 April – 1 June 2019)
• Creditors by August Strindberg, adapted by Howard Brenton (26 April – 1 June 2019)
• Mary’s Babies by Maud Dromgoole (20 March – 13 April 2019)
• Agnes Colander by Harley Granville Barker, revised by Richard Nelson (12 February – 16 March 2019)
• Original Death Rabbit by Rose Heiney (9 January – 9 February 2019)

The Rebels Season

• Burke and Hare by Tom Wentworth (28 November – 21 December 2018)
• Billy Bishop Goes To War by John Gray with Eric Peterson (31 October – 24 November 2018)
• Parents’ Evening by Bathsheba Doran (3 October – 27 October 2018)
• About Leo by Alice Allemano (5 September – 29 September 2018)

The Reaction Season

• Hymn to Love devised by Annie Castledine, Steve Trafford, Elizabeth Mansfield (25 July – 18 August 2018)
• The Play About My Dad by Boo Killebrew (27 June – 21 July 2018)
• Stitchers by Esther Freud (30 May – 23 June 2018)
• Tomorrow at Noon by Jenny Ayres, Emma Harding, Morna Young (24 April – 15 May 2018)
• Tonight At 8:30 by Noël Coward (10 April – 20 May 2018)

The Scandal Season

• The Dog Beneath The Skin by W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood (7 March – 31 March 2018)
• Hilda and Virginia by Maureen Duffy (27 February – 3 March 2018)
• Mad As Hell by Cassie McFarlane, Adrian Hope (7 February – 24 February 2018)
• Woman Before A Glass by Lanie Robertson (17 January – 3 February 2018)

The Escape Season

• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson (6 December 2017 – 13 January 2018)
• Miss Julie by August Strindberg, adapted by Howard Brenton (14 November – 2 December 2017)
• Anything That Flies by Judith Burnley (18 October – 11 November 2017)
• The Blinding Light by Howard Brenton (6 September – 14 October 2017)

• Winner The Stage Awards Fringe Theatre of the Year (2021)[30]
• Shortlisted Broadway World Awards Best Performance Ensemble for Pictures of Dorian Gray (2019)[31]
• Winner The Stage Awards Fringe Theatre of the Year (2012)

• Jermyn Street Theatre Official Site
• Jermyn Street Theatre (About Us)
• Off West End Theatre Awards