About Us

King’s Head Theatre is an Off-West End theatre in Islington that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, onstage and off. As well as platforming LGBTQ+ theatre, we programme a wide range of plays and musicals, alongside a cabaret programme including drag and comedy.

Established in 1970, the old King’s Head Theatre was the longest-running pub theatre in London. The venue operated for 53 years, housed in the back room of the King’s Head Pub on Upper Street. After many successful years, the theatre closed its door on 13th August 2023, ready to move to its new home.

Under Artistic Director & Founder Dan Crawford, whose tenure lasted 35 years until his death in 2005, the theatre became known as a breeding ground for new talent and great work. Renowned actors like Maureen Lipman, Hugh Grant, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Alan Rickman & Richard E Grant have all performed here, and a number of our productions have transferred to the West End & Broadway. Over the years, King’s Head Theatre has premiered work from writers such as Steven Berkoff, Tom Stoppard, Bryony Lavery & Victoria Wood.

In 2010, the Olivier Award-winning Opera UpClose Productions became the theatre’s resident company for four years. With Adam Spreadbury-Maher as Artistic Director, they turned the King’s Head into ‘London’s Little Opera House’, winning an Olivier Award for La Boheme in the Best New Opera category. The theatre has long had a commitment to emerging, daring & innovative work, such as Trainspotting, the Edinburgh Fringe & touring immersive theatre hit that was developed under our roof.

Briefly over the pandemic, renowned playwright Mark Ravenhill took tenureship, and became the Artistic Director who solidified the theatre’s commitment to showcasing theatre by and for the LGBTQ+ community. Before closing the pub theatre in August 2023, the King’s Head also hosted a Guest Artistic Director pilot programme supported by Arts Council England, with artists David Cumming, Isabel Adomakoh-Young, Tom Ratcliffe and Tania Azevedo each taking the reigns for a short period.

The new King’s Head Theatre was opened on the 5th January 2024, under the leadership of current Executive Producer Sofi Berenger; the opening show was Exhibitionists, written by Olivier-Award winning writer Sean McKenna. In our first year, the theatre also worked with artists such as Heartstopper's Cormac Hyde-Corrin, Ella Vaday (Nick Collier), Jonathan Maitland, Luke Bayer, Neil Ashton and Rob Madge.

As the new building goes into its second year we look forward to working with artists such as Vikki Stone, Tony and Olivier nominee Lauren Ward, TV star Amanda Abbington, and writer/actress Rosie Day.

King’s Head Theatre focuses on showcasing LGBTQ+ work which explores the full spectrum of experiences symbolised by the rainbow flag. We are a home for a new wave of diverse queer theatre makers, and we love to embrace stories that haven't been told before, in ways that haven't been invented yet.

Our artistic policy is joyful, irreverent, colourful & queer. King’s Head Theatre showcases work across a wide range of performance styles: from plays to musicals, opera to cabaret, and drag to comedy. Across our two spaces, a 200-seat Main House and 4Below, a 50-seat cabaret space, we programme multiple productions a day from a variety of forms and genres, so you’re always bound to find something that’s entertaining, alternative and just for you.

Our History

King's Head Theatre has been operating since 1970, but has gone through many transformations over the years. Click on the options below to find out about each chapter of the venue's history.

1970-2000

1970 | Dan Crawford founds the first pub theatre in London since Shakespeare’s day and King’s Head Theatre is born; he goes on to serve as Artistic Director for 35 years.

1983 | A revival of Mr Cinders opens at King’s Head Theatre before transferring to the West End. It goes on to run for 527 performances.

1983 | Noel and Gertie, starring Joanna Lumley, premieres at King’s Head Theatre.

1985 | Hugh Grant makes his acting debut at King’s Head Theatre.

1986 | Maureen Lipman stars in Olivier Award-nominated Wonderful Town at King’s Head Theatre.

1988 | The premier of Tom Stoppard’s Artist Descending a Staircase opens at King’s Head Theatre before transferring to Broadway.

1991 | Steven Berkoff directs & stars in the UK premiere of Kvetch at the King’s Head Theatre.

2001-2019

2002 | Dan & Stephanie Crawford receive Her Majesty the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for Contribution to the Arts, & The Trainee Resident Directors Scheme wins the Royal Anniversary Trust Award.

2006 | The documentary King’s Head Theatre: A Maverick in London is made and airs on SkyARTS World for 3 years.

2010 | Opera Up Close, founded by Adam Spreadbury-Maher & Robin Norton-Hale become resident company for 4 years. Adam becomes Artistic Director of King’s Head Theatre.

2011 | La Boheme wins the Olivier Award for Best New Opera Performance.

2012 | Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams receives its UK premiere before transferring to the West End.

2015 | King’s Head Theatre forms a new charity to secure the future of the theatre.

2015 | Shock Treatment, the sequel to The Rocky Horror Show Picture Show has its world premiere at King’s Head Theatre.

2015 | Trainspotting is first performed at King’s Head Theatre, hitting its 900th performance in August 2017.

2016 | 43,857 audience members see a show at our London home - our highest footfall ever to date at this point.

2017 | King’s Head Theatre announces the transfer of La Boheme & Strangers in Between to Trafalgar Studios 2 in London’s West End. La Boheme goes on to be nominated for Best New Opera Production at the Olivier Awards.

2019 | King’s Head Theatre’s production of Kevin Elyot’s Coming Clean transfers to Trafalgar Studios 2 in London’s West End.

2020-2025

2021 | Mark Ravenhill is appointed as Artistic Director.

2022 | King's Head Theatre finally has its 50th birthday celebration, delayed because of Covid-19.

KHT50 | Barstools to Broadway plays for one week, bringing together work which premiered at King’s Head Theatre in the 1970s & 1980s. These plays included Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Third, performed at the V&A, read by Harriet Walter & Gemma Whelan, and directed by Audrey Sheffield.

Other plays read at KHT include:

Tom Stoppard’s Artist Descending a Staircase, directed by original director Tim Luscombe.
Stephen Jeffreys' Like Dolls or Angels, directed by his wife Annabel Arden and performed by Isobel Adomakoh Young & Joel Maccormack.
Bryony Lavery’s Grandmother’s Steps, performed by Showstoppers! stars Ruth Bratt & Lucy Trodd, directed by Abigail Anderson.
Victoria Wood’s musical Good Fun, directed by original cast member Annabel Leventon.
Elegies for Angels, Punks & Raging Queens, directed by writer Bill Russell who is joined by 30 recent graduates.

2022 | King's Head Theatre produces the UK Premiere of Freud’s Last Session, which was developed into a major motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins.

2022/23 | The theatre co-produces Mediocre White Male starring Will Close (Olivier Award Winner 2024 for Best Supporting Actor), written by Will Close and Joe von Malachowski.

2023 | King's Head Pub Theatre closes its doors after 53 years on the 13th August 2023, with a special event starring Steven Berkoff, Mark Gatiss, Ian Hallard, Dame Janet Suzman, Linda Marlowe, Freddie Love, Saul Boyer and Bold Mellon.

2023 | The theatre hosts Guest Artistic Directors Isabel Adomakoh Young (Orlando, As You Like It, Globe Theatre), Tom Ratcliffe (Writer, Wreckage - UK Tour; Director, Breeding by Barry McStay), Tania Azevedo (Director, But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical) and David Cumming (Writer & Performer, Operation Mincemeat, Olivier Award Winner 2024 for Best New Musical).

2024 | King's Head Theatre opens at its new building – 116p Upper St, Islington Square – on 5th January with Exhibitionists by Shaun McKenna and Andrew Van Sickle.

2024 | The theatre hosts its first family pantomime Cinderella, written and directed by Andy Pollard and starring Drag Race UK’s Ella Vaday (Nick Collier). The show also features the voices of Dame Judi Dench, Miriam Margolyes, and Su Pollard. It becomes the theatre’s best-selling show to date.

2025 | King’s Head Theatre celebrates one year in its new building: in its first year as an Off-West End venue, it hosts 110 shows, 900 individual performances, and nearly 50,000 visitors.

Meet the Team

We're a small team with a wide range of experience between us, and we're always happy to help. Because we get a high volume of emails we ask that you use this section of the website to direct your email to right person for your query. For programming requests and questions, please visit the Production Proposals section of the website.