History
In 2022 leading West End producer and theatre owner, Nica Burns, announced the opening of @sohoplace, the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years. The culmination of a 12-year project, the theatre is owned by Nica Burns and operated by Nimax Theatres, with state-of-the-art facilities.
The theatre is adjacent to the site of the old Astoria theatre which was demolished to build Crossrail. The theatre @sohoplace is at the heart of property giant Derwent London’s visionary £300 million regeneration of a neglected corner of Soho. Totalling 285,000 square feet it is a mixed development with the theatre at its heart, offices and retail and a fantastic new piazza, an ideal meeting place for Londoners to start their day or night out in the West End.
‘I wanted to create a theatre which could add a different dimension to our vibrant West End landscape. I asked our greatest theatre creatives two questions: If we could build a new theatre in the heart of the West End, what would you like it to be? What additional facilities would be on your wish list? They dreamt of a flexible auditorium, perfect acoustics and audience / stage intimacy. An ability to create on-site with the dream of a rehearsal room, a Green Room and a bar all in the same building. So that’s what we built – with a few extras including an outside terrace.‘
Nica Burns – Theatre Owner
In its first year @sohoplace has presented the transfer of the New Vic’s production of Marvellous, two new revivals: Shakespeare’s As You Like It directed by Josie Rourke, and Dominic Cooke’s production of Medea starring Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels, followed by two world premiere productions, the stage adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story, Brokeback Mountain and the new British musical, The Little Big Things.