Bush Theatre

The Bush Theatre stands in Shepherd’s Bush, London, inside the former Passmore Edwards Public Library. The building dates from the early 20th century and sits on Uxbridge Road, a short walk from Shepherd’s Bush Green. It was established in 1972 above a pub by actor Brian McDermott and producer Nicholas Newton. For nearly forty years it occupied a tiny upstairs room above The Bush public house. In 2011 the company moved into the library building after a major redevelopment. The theatre is known for championing new writing and has launched many writers who later became prominent. Over the years it has won awards such as The Empty Space Award and was named London Theatre of the Year by The Stage. Productions like Jackie Kay’s Chiaroscuro and Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer have drawn full houses. The Literary Department receives nearly two thousand scripts each year and runs a writers’ group to support early-career playwrights. Inside, the building contains two performance spaces: The Theatre seats up to 180 and The Studio up to 70, both adaptable for different staging. There is also an attic rehearsal space, a writers’ room, a café bar and a garden terrace. The playtext library is the largest public theatre reference collection in the United Kingdom. Outside, the street-level entrance opens onto Uxbridge Road, linking the theatre to the everyday life of West London.