King's Head Theatre

The King's Head Theatre stands in the London Borough of Islington, next to St Mary’s Church on Upper Street. The original pub theatre opened in 1970 in the back room of the King’s Head pub, a building that has housed a tavern since 1543. The Victorian structure once held a boxing ring and a pool hall before Dan Crawford turned it into a theatre. In 2024 the company moved into a purpose-built 220-seat space beside the old pub. The new building also includes a 50-seat cabaret room called 4Below and a small bookshop. It is worth the journey because the theatre has produced award-winning work since 1970. Productions such as Tom Stoppard’s Artist Descending a Staircase later transferred to the West End and Broadway. Stephanie Sinclaire and Steven M. Levy led the company after Crawford’s death, staging premieres and pulling the theatre out of debt. The venue has premiered Tennessee Williams’s Vieux Carre and Trainspotting, which has had over 900 performances. Recent seasons focus on LGBTQ+ stories, including European premieres from the Edinburgh Fringe. A visitor finds a modern auditorium with two bars and a bookshop. The 4Below space hosts solo shows, drag and cabaret, while the main stage presents new plays and musicals. Each November the theatre stages an Islington pantomime, the only one in the borough. The programme continues to feature queer-centred work alongside classic revivals.