We have secured a new venue in the City of London, which we will announce in the next few weeks. 

Theatre Deli has received notice on our current venue in the City of London, where we have been based since 2017 in partnership with British Land. Theatre Deli’s current programme of events, classes and bookings, along with our residency programme will continue until the eviction date of July 2022, by which time we will have transitioned its activity to a new City of London venue.

An important feature of London’s fringe theatre scene, recognised through support from City of London Council and Arts Council England, Theatre Deli’s Broadgate campus is a go-to for affordable rehearsal space for artists in the capital, alongside being a partner venue to the acclaimed Voila! Festival. Providing emerging artists with an essential leg-up, our Broadgate venue has given away over 8007 hours worth of in-kind rehearsal space since January 2018 alone.

Since taking over a floor of the former UBS Bank headquarters almost five years ago as well as a ground floor retail unit, Theatre Deli’s Broadgate campus has been home to a hub of creative activity including regular improv jams and monthly cabaret prior to the pandemic. Since reopening in 2021 the venue has hosted resident artists, three weekend festivals, Rogue Production’s immersive heist game The Perfect Crime and launched a programme of free space for community events. Theatre Deli has also been a project partner on NDT Broadgate, a rehearsal room project by New Diorama Theatre which has been located in the building for the last year.

Changing venues is nothing new to Theatre Deli, we have taken over eleven unused spaces since 2008! The organisation exists to support artists to make art in unexpected spaces, using innovative partnerships with landlords and developers as outlined in Theatre Deli’s white paper issued in 2021. Based across London and Sheffield, our team left our most recent northern venue in January 2022, and will open a new Sheffield venue later in the year.  

The news of Theatre Deli’s venue departure comes hot on the heels of the announcement of our widely celebrated Accessibility Policy, which commits to putting support and access for disabled communities at the core of programming, communications and venues. 

Theatre Deli’s current venue 2 Finsbury Avenue is set to be renovated and plans will commence for a new build to be completed roughly by 2027.

“Theatre Deli’s Broadgate venue has been an unqualified success since we were invited by British Land to bring new art and emerging artists to the City in 2017. We have been able to build a much-needed resource to artists in the heart of London, offered thousands of hours of support, rehearsal space, and expertise, and offered game-changing opportunities time and time again. I’m delighted that we have been able to secure a new home within the City of London for this important work.” 

David Ralf, Executive Director & CEO, Theatre Deli

Image: Maude performing at Pandemic in the City Festival in Theatre Deli, Broadgate. Photo credit: Tasha Best