“Entertaining, intelligent drama in the heart of the West End”

Jermyn Street Theatre is the West End’s smallest producing theatre. Led by Artistic and Executive Directors Tom Littler and Penny Horner, the programme includes outstanding new plays, rare revivals, new versions of European classics, and high-quality musicals, alongside one-off musical and literary events. We collaborate with theatres across the world, and our productions have transferred to the West End and Broadway.

We’ve premiered plays by Howard Brenton, Alice Allemano, Steven Berkoff, Esther Freud, Gail Louw, Sarah Daniels, and countless others, and we’ve rediscovered work by writers including Terence Rattigan, Lillian Hellman, Henrik Ibsen, Stephen Sondheim, Tenessee Williams and Noel Coward. Emerging talents mingle with the likes of Trevor Nunn, Sinead Cusack, Tuppence Middleton, David Threlfall, Lisa Dwan, Alan Cox, Rosalie Craig, Eileen Atkins, and our Patron, Michael Gambon.

Jermyn Street Theatre is a charitable trust, Registered Charity No.1186940. It receives no regular funding or grants, and many of its staff are volunteers. Overheads and production expenses are met by ticket sales and charitable donations. To find out more, see Our Charity.

During the 1930s, the basement of 16b Jermyn Street was home to the glamorous Monseigneur Restaurant and Club. The staff changing rooms were transformed into a theatre by Howard Jameson and Penny Horner (who continue to serve as Chair of the Board and Executive Director today) in the early 1990s and Jermyn Street Theatre staged its first production in August 1994.

Neil Marcus became the first Artistic Director in 1995 and secured Lottery funding for the venue; producer Chris Grady also made a major contribution to the theatre’s development. In 1995, HRH Princess Michael of Kent became the theatre’s Patron and David Babani, subsequently the Artistic Director of the Menier Chocolate Factory, took over as Artistic Director until 2001. Later Artistic Directors included Gene David Kirk and Anthony Biggs. In 2012, the theatre won The Stage 100 Best Fringe Theatre. In 2017, Tom Littler restructured the theatre to become a full-time producing house.

In January 2021, the theatre was awarded Fringe Theatre of the Year by The Stage Awards for continuing to produce work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Artistic Director Tom Littler and Executive Director Penny Horner were recognised in The Stage 100 for their commitment to producing and supporting freelancers in the most difficult of circumstances. Jermyn Street Theatre is the first Fringe Theatre to win this award twice.