Soho Poly Theatre

The University of Westminster successfully fundraised £400,000 over 2 years to bring the original Soho Poly theatre back to life, thanks to generous grants from donors such as the Span Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, CILS funding from Westminster City Council, and many others.

Our iconic basement theatre has now been fully restored, completing in April 2023. The restoration included the installation of a wheelchair platform lift connecting the basement theatre to the ground floor, which provides step-free access – and now makes the theatre fully accessible for the first time. New heating and air conditioning has been installed, in addition to a new lighting rig and electrics. The old staircase was demolished and a new, widened staircase with landings has been built, allowing safe access to and from the building. We have widened the ground floor door and re-established the Riding House Street entrance. A new lobby has been created at the ground floor entrance to meet accessibility requirements, along with a ramp enabling disabled access.

We opened the Soho Poly for activities with community groups in September 2023, and will launch the theatre formally in April 2024 with a special event, which all donors and partners will be invited. We held a ‘soft launch’ in the theatre in summer 2023 with our Soho Poly Summer Festival.

Restoring the Soho Poly was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to breathe new life into and reopen one of the most important fringe theatre venues in the UK. The restored Soho Poly will cement its reputation as a destination where people, irrespective of background or ability, can enter a welcoming and accessible environment. Due to the success of our fundraising campaign and the generous donation from the Span Trust – we are now making this vision a reality. Thank you to all the Trustees of the Span Trust!