News Articles

Arcola Theatre is to install a full carbon-neutral heating system next month, after a groundswell of public support delivered £12,500 of funding for the project. 1797 people voted online for the Carbon Neutral Arcola proposal, which is expected to reduce the theatre’s carbon emissions by 5 tonnes every year. As the most-supported project in London …

Arcola wins carbon-neutral heating system Read More »

Mark Jagasia’s smash-hit Clarion returns with the original cast, including Greg Hicks and three-time Olivier Award winner Clare Higgins. 500 tickets available at just £10 London premiere of Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s new play, Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern, directed by Ria Parry Michael Kingsbury directs Patrick Marmion’s new comedy, The Divided Laing, on the 50th …

Arcola announces new winter season Read More »

Today Arcola Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen announced the ninth Grimeborn opera festival. In a statement he said: “For the ninth year running, Grimeborn will showcase work from some of our most exciting opera artists, in an accessible way and at an affordable price. Classics by Puccini, Verdi and Strauss will be reimagined; little-known masterpieces like Tchouhadjian’s Gariné will …

Mehmet Ergen announces ninth Grimeborn festival Read More »

Arcola Theatre Creative Engagement has announced two weeks of events, performances and productions across two mini-festivals. First up in our youth mini-festival, Arcola Youth Theatre (13-17 years) present Shakespeare: 3 Plays – abridged versions of Julius Caesar, King Lear and Twelfth Night. Following a term’s exploration of new theatre styles and techniques, these vibrant productions …

Arcola announces Creative Engagement Summer Season Read More »

THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS AND HEARTS, a new chamber musical by Eamonn O’Dwyer and Rob Gilbert, receives its world premiere in a production by Ryan McBryde GRIMEBORN, Arcola’s month-long festival of opera, returns for its ninth year Director Nadia Latif reunites with American playwright Kristiana Colón for OCTAGON, the follow-up to their acclaimed 2012 Arcola …

Arcola announces 2015 Summer/Autumn season Read More »

Arcola audiences old and new, Mark Jagasia spent 12 years writing for some of Britain’s best-known newspapers. In 2007, he left the industry to write an explosive first play about it. Clarion shines a dazzling light on the dark heart of our national press. As soon as I received the script last year, I programmed a …

A letter from Mehmet Ergen Read More »

On a night in late February, Gareth Thomas – former captain of the Welsh rugby team and the most famous gay team sportsman in the world – took his family and friends to a theatre press night. He’s no stranger, now, to shiny showbiz events but this was special. The play being premiered was Crouch, …

An interview with Gareth Thomas Read More »

Arcola’s contribution to the 2014 Family Arts Festival, THE THREE SILLIES, has won three awards at the Family Arts Festival Awards. Best Overall Family Welcome Best Family Venue Best Family Event/Activity (for The Three Sillies) Stay tuned for an announcement of our 2015 Family Arts Festival programme! Arcola has also signed up to the Family Arts Standards.

Arcola Theatre has won in five categories at this year’s OffWestEnd awards.

Arcola Theatre has received 9 nominations in this year’s shortlist for the OffWestEnd Awards – more than any other London theatre.

Taksim Square features songs from the 2013 protests in Turkey The original production, at Talimhane Tiyatrosu in Istanbul, caused the theatre to lose its government funding UK premiere opens the Orient Express season at Arcola

Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen directs world premieres of Clarion and Shrapnel: 34 Fragments of a Massacre, two urgent plays about the press and military Max Stafford-Clark directs Robin Soans’ Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage – Arcola’s first co-production with National Theatre Wales and Out of Joint – which gets its London premiere after a UK tour …

Arcola announces 2015 Winter/Spring season Read More »

Arcola’s brand new Supporters scheme was launched on June 19 with a reception at the theatre. Mehmet Ergen and Graham Benson, chair of our new Development Board were joined by Arcola Champions, friends and long-term supporters and some brand new founding patrons. Our Trustee Jack Shepherd led on memories about Arcola beginnings, the madness of …

Supporters scheme launched Read More »

All shows in our 2014 summer season have been announced today! Starting our season off is Between Us by Sarah Daniels, commissioned by Arcola Theatre and playing in Studio 2. Morphic Graffiti kicks things off in Studio 1 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, followed shortly after by The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes directed by former …

Arcola announces 2014 Summer season Read More »

The Spanish Golden Age Season  is one of the productions dominating this year’s Offie nominations, as is Up In Arm’s Visitors, with a total of 9 nominations between them. 3 of the Best Female Actor nominations are for Arcola performers with 2 of our Spanish Golden Age season ensemble members competing against each other (Francis McNamee for …

A string of Offie nominations for Arcola Read More »

Aylin Bozok has been named Best Newcomer in the WhatsOnStage Opera Poll. “If there is a surprise victor this year, it is the young Swiss-Turkish director Aylin Bozok whose shoestring production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande so impressed audiences last summer at the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn Festival. It was full of simply-realised ideas that brilliantly elucidated what …

Aylin Bozok named Best Newcomer in 2014 WhatsOnStage Opera Poll Read More »

The Guardian writers voted, and we made the cut! Michael Billington voted Punishment Without Revenge as number 2 on his list of Best Theatre of 2013. Punishment Without Revenge has its first Arcola preview this Saturday 11 January, continuing w/c 20 January.

“Electrifying” – The Independent ★★★★★ “Not to be missed.” – Whatsonstage ★★★★★ “This is an extraordinary production.” – The Guardian ★★★★ “an emotional joy” – Metro ★★★★ “another extraordinary Chekhov revival…super stuff.” – Time Out ★★★★ “The most daring adaptation of Chekhov you’re likely to see” – Londonist “Miss it at your peril – can’t …

Rave reviews for Sons Without Fathers Read More »

We’re pleased to announced that Arcola Theatre was voted ‘Most Welcoming Theatre’ in East London by the general public at the Offies award ceremony on Sunday 24th February. (more)