The Bloomsbury Theatre is spacious and welcoming theatre close to London's West End with 535 comfortable seats, each with plenty of room to stretch your legs and no pillars to block your view! The theatre is owned by University College London and creates part of the university environment. The Theatre hosts student productions for 12 weeks annually, whilst hosting professional productions for the rest of the year. See our events page for our current programme.
The Bloomsbury Theatre was officially opened in 1968 as The Central Collegiate Building Auditorium, this was soon changed to The Collegiate Theatre. It was renamed in 1982 as The Bloomsbury Theatre to reflect its geographical location as well as the artistic associations of the name.
With its relaxed atmosphere and stunning auditorium the theatre has gained a reputation in a number of fields over its lifetime, from small scale opera work to innovative stand-up comedy. It provided an early stage for some of this country's greatest comedy talent including Lily Savage, Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand, Jeremy Hardy, Mel & Sue, John Shuttleworth and Sooty! Recently top name comedians such as Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Carr and Harry Hill have chosen the Bloomsbury Theatre as a venue for their DVD recordings. The Bloomsbury also hosts many music events such as the Zombies and Ray Davies.
Today the Bloomsbury Theatre's programme challenges the limitations of its West End neighbours, with as many as 20 different companies and events to see in one month. From music to comedy, dance to drama, and corporate conferences to film presentations. The diversity of this programme enables the theatre to be your local theatre in London's Global University. You will never find an ordinary production here - only the new and the innovative!
