Barons Court Theatre

The Barons Court Theatre is a small performance space with 52 seats, set in the basement of The Curtains Up pub on Comeragh Road in West London. It opened in 1991 and programmes short runs of plays alongside afternoon magic shows that change often. Ron Phillips served as its first artistic director and shaped its early seasons. The theatre has presented major works such as Sophocles’s Antigone, Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Shakespeare’s Richard III and Shakespeare’s Women. Notable performers have appeared there, including Sara Kestelman in Bitter Fruits of Palestine. It also hosted The Magic Cavern, a magic and illusion show led by international magician Richard Leigh. After more than a year closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre reopened in 2021 under new artistic director Sharon Willems, who had previously led Kibo Productions. The space remains a lively spot for fresh theatre and magic, tucked beneath a local pub in a quiet West London street.