Theatre 503

Initially established in 1982 as an offshoot of the Gate Theatre, Theatre 503 is a stalwart of the London fringe. It's enjoyed the odd dazzling moment in the spotlight; in 2017, Jon Brittain's Rotterdam landed a Olivier; ditto for 2009’s premiere of Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, which beat Jez Butterworth Jerusalem to the title of Best New Play.

Clearly that's not an annual occurrence, but the theatre is serious about its new writing and pumps out a steady stream of productions that are indubitably worth a look. There are plenty of efforts to make its line-up more accessible, too, like regular Pay What You Can matinees, Parent & Baby performances, and captioned shows. As of 2026 the artistic director is Anthony Simpson-Pike, who replaces Lisa Spirling, who went off to run the Young Vic. 

Theatre503's 63-seater black box space is more comfortable than your average fringe theatre, with a spacious air-conditioned auditorium and cosy leather sofas in its front of house area. It sits above the Latchmere Pub, a spacious, agreeable boozer that recently had a gastro makeover - it's got a popular heated beer garden area, and specialises in homemade scotch eggs.