Gate Theatre to close
London’s award-winning Gate Theatre is to close after nearly 50 years of presenting innovative drama with a panoply of theatre greats, becoming the most significant victim so far of the current theatre funding crisis. It will close at the end of October.
Founded by director Lou Stein in 1979 in a room above the Prince Albert pub in Notting Hill with a mission to bring ground-breaking international theatre to London audiences, the Gate has been a seminal training ground boasting Giles Croft, Stephen Daldry, Laurence Boswell, Erica Whyman and Thea Sharrock among its past artistic directors. Its first production was Flann O’Brien’s At Swim Two Birds.
Actors and directors who have been associated with Gate productions include Jude Law, Robert Stephens, Rachel Weisz, Alex Kingston, Kathy Burke, Sam Shepherd, Peter Hall, Sarah Kane, Katie Mitchell and Ian Rickson.
It grew from the humblest beginnings to have international influence and a reputation for experimentation and innovation, opening an off-shoot at the Latchmere in Battersea Park in 1982. Latterly it transformed from a small building-based Fringe venue to a producer-led theatre company, working with partner venues. Following the closure of its Notting Hill home in 2022 and the loss of all its Art Council funding the following year,
increased competition for funds from trusts and foundations and rising production costs proved insurmountable.
“The Gate has faced many challenges over its history” said interim executive director Alice Linnane. “However, the tenacity of the staff and artists who believed in the vision of the theatre always saw it through. Its closure is an acute loss for our industry and for artists.
“Like so many arts organisations across the UK, we have been operating in an incredibly difficult climate. Funding that reduces in real terms year on year, rising costs, and a fiercely competitive fundraising environment have left many of us living hand-to-mouth, and this has unfortunately become impossible to sustain.”
Artistic lead Atri Banerjee added: “The Gate is closing, but the international, experimental and generous spirit it has championed will continue in the artists and audiences who have been changed by it.”
Pictured here are Afsaneh Dehrouyeh and Emily Renée in the Gate’s 2024 production of Pullitzer prize-winner Sana Toossi’s Wish You Were Here