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The Grace Theatre The Latchmere Theatre | |
 Theatre503 and Latchmere Pub | |
 | |
| Address | 503 Battersea Park Road London,SW11 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°28′29″N0°09′15″W / 51.4746°N 0.1542°W /51.4746; -0.1542 |
| Public transit |   Clapham Junction |
| Type | Fringe theatre |
| Capacity | 64 seats |
| Current use | Theatre |
| Production | New writing |
| Opened | 1982; 43 years ago (1982) |
| Website | |
| theatre503.com | |
Theatre503 is a theatre based at 503 Battersea Park Road inBattersea in theLondon Borough of Wandsworth, aboveThe Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers.
The theatre was founded in 1982 as theLatchmere Theatre (the name taken from that of the pub downstairs), an offshoot of theGate Theatre,Notting Hill Gate. It is a custom-built[clarification needed] studio theatre. The opening production was a new adaptation ofFear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which proved so successful that the production transferred to theWest End.
In 2004 the theatre was renamed as Theatre503 underArtistic Director Paul Higgins, and became a home for new writing. In 2006 Paul Robinson and Tim Roseman were appointed as Artistic Directors with the brief of developing the theatre's profile. Robinson was sole Artistic Director from 2012 to 2016. Under Robinson and Roseman, the venue saw the premiere of works by writers includingDuncan Macmillan,Tom Morton-Smith,Anna Jordan,Alice Birch,Charlene James,Katori Hall,Jon Brittain andPhoebe Eclair-Powell. It has won the Peter Brook Empty Space Award and twoOlivier Awards, in 2010 for its production ofKatori Hall'sThe Mountaintop and 2017 forRotterdam by Jon Brittain.
Andrew Shepherd became Executive Director at the beginning of 2016. In August of the same year, Lisa Spirling became Artistic Director, directing the winner of the 2016 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award,In Event of Moone Disaster (October 2017) by Andrew Thompson, nine years after making her directorial debutCotton Wool by Ali Taylor at the same venue. Steve Harper is the theatre's Literary Manager and has overseen the debuts of more than 1,000 first time writers during his tenure. In October 2023, Emily Carewe joined as Executive Director.
Over 120 debut and emerging writers are staged each year in more than 70 productions ranging from one night series of shorts to full length four week runs. In a two year cycle they read and receive over 4,000 scripts including their bi-ennial International Playwriting Award, 503 Five writers-in-residence, unsolicited and their pioneering Rapid Write Response programme.
Beth Steel, Lou Ramsden, Nimer Rashed, Rex Obano, Richard Marsh (2011–12); Brad Birch,Charlene James,Chris Urch, Gemma Langford,Jon Brittain (2013–14) Brian Mullin, Chloe Todd Fordham, Ella Greenhill, Neasa O'Callaghan,Vinay Patel (2015–16) Aisha Zia, Chris Hogg, Mahad Ali, Ross Willis, Yasmin Joseph (2017–18), Annie Jenkins,Benedict Lombe, Joel Tan, Jon Berry, Zak Mahinfar (2019–20)
Winner
Winner
Nominations
Winner
Nominations –
Winner – Olivier Awards, Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate TheatreRotterdam by Jon Brittain (Premiered at Theatre503 in 2015 before transferring to Trafalgar Studios)
Nominations:
Winner –Off West End, Best Producer (DEM Productions at Theatre503)
Nominations –
Winner – Argus Angel for Artistic Excellence (Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho)Winner – Off West End, Best Set Designer (Signe Beckmann forA Handful of Stars)Nominations:
Nominations – Off West End Awards:
Winner – Off West End Awards:
Winner – Olivier Awards, Best New Play,The Mountaintop byKatori Hall
Nominated –
Nominated – Evening Standard Awards, Most Promising Playwright, Katori Hall forThe MountaintopShortlisted – Evening Standard Awards – Best Actor, David Harewood forThe MountaintopNominated – TMA Awards, Best New Play,The Lifesavers by Fraser Grace (co-production with Mercury Theatre, Colchester)Winner – Meyer Whitworth Award, Ali Taylor forCotton Wool
Nominated – Peter Brook Empty Space Award
Landmark Productions
