TheTabard Theatre is a small 96-seat theatre inChiswick in theLondon Borough of Hounslow. Close toTurnham Green Underground station, it is situated above theTabard public house on Bath Road. The Tabard Theatre was licensed and opened for theatre use in 1985. It was renamed as the Chiswick Playhouse in 2019, but closed in March 2022.[1] It reopened as the Tabard in September 2022.[2]
The Tabard public house was built in 1880 by the architectNorman Shaw as one of the public buildings of theBedford Park garden suburb; the others, nearby, are the Bedford Park Stores,St Michael and All Angels church, and a clubhouse, now theLondon Buddhist Vihara.[3] The upper walls of the public house are covered inArts and Craft tiles byWilliam De Morgan, and the fireplaces have surrounds of tiles created byWalter Crane – an early example ofArt Nouveau.[4]
The Tabard Theatre was licensed and opened for theatre use in 1985.[5] It was founded by the actress Andrea Black. With the help of the playwright Sam Dowling, the actor Ron Forfar and the playwright Dale Reynolds, 'The Tabard Theatre of New Writing' was established with a vision for the future of theatre through recognising new playwrights. The first play chosen wasOur Blue Heaven by the late Bill Jesse, followed byRiverman by Sam Dowling. Originally, actors from West London Equity supported an event to raise money to adapt the room above the Tabard pub into a theatre. When Andrea Black took over the space, it was just a carpeted room. Hidden behind the wallpaper were originalWilliam Morris tiles.
The space was painted, a ticket office was established, and bookings were taken for the first production. News of the new theatre in West London attracted a wealth of creative like-minded people who gave much of their time to the success. Directors such asStephen Butcher and Jay Vaughan worked on some of the early plays, chosen collectively by a creative team appointed by Andrea Black and Sam Dowling. The theatre created a strong reputation for new writing, and developed into a home for experimentaltheatre andalternative comedy.
In 2005 the theatre was refurbished. At the end of 2007, the Tabard Theatre started to produce in house, making it one of the few theatres to do so in a studio theatre with no central funding. In 2009,New Boy, a 2008 co-production, transferred to the West End; In 2010,Wolfboy followed its steps. In 2011, the Tabard presentedYou're A Good Man, Charlie Brown directed byAnthony Drewe and starringOlivier Award winningLeanne Jones. The Tabard produced the world premiere ofRichard Harris's new playLiza Liza Liza about the life ofLiza Minnelli. Christmas shows have includedStiles andDrewe's musicalsHonk! andJust So,Rodgers and Hammerstein'sCinderella and currently the UK Premiere ofAlan Menken's adaptation ofA Christmas Carol. The theatre gained a reputation as a venue for comedians to try out new work prior to major tours, and well known names such asRussell Brand,Harry Hill,Russell Howard,Dara Ó Briain andAl Murray have all played there.[6]
In 2019, the theatre was renamed the Chiswick Playhouse.[7][8] The actor Fred Perry became executive director of the theatre.[9] The Chiswick Playhouse closed in March 2022.
Theatre returned to the Tabard in July 2022.[10] In 2025, the Tabard won the London Pub Theatre of the Year award, as well as prizes for two productions,The Mikado andThe Snow Queen. The awards were received by the theatre's artistic director Simon Reilly and its executive director and creative producer Sarah Reilly.[11]
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51°29′45″N0°15′17″W / 51.4957°N 0.2547°W /51.4957; -0.2547
