About the Bush Theatre

The Bush is a new-writing theatre, run as a charity, which makes its own shows. Since 1972 it has staged more than 500 premieres. Its Artistic Director is Taio Lawson, who took over in 2025. The Stage named it Theatre of the Year in 2023.

Where did the Bush Theatre start?

In a small room above a pub on the corner of Shepherd's Bush Green, in 1972. Writers who came through the Bush include Simon Stephens, James Graham, Lucy Kirkwood, Jack Thorne, Arinzé Kene and Temi Wilkey, and it gave early stage work to actors including Alan Rickman, Victoria Wood, Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Why is the Bush Theatre in a library?

In 2011 the Bush moved round the corner into the old Passmore Edwards Public Library on Uxbridge Road, which opened in 1896 and closed when Shepherd's Bush got a new library in 2008. The building was rebuilt in 2016 and 2017, with a new entrance, the terrace and the Library Bar, where the bookshelves are still full of playscripts.

The main space is named the Holloway Theatre after Charles Holloway, a philanthropist who made a major donation to the Bush.

Past productions at the Bush Theatre

• Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd's play, long before it became a television series
• The P Word, an Olivier Award winner from the Bush's 50th birthday season in 2022
• Red Pitch, by Tyrell Williams, which transferred to the West End in 2024
• Shifters, by Benedict Lombe, Olivier-nominated and also transferred to the West End in 2024
• Not Your Superwoman, by Emma Dennis-Edwards, with Letitia Wright and Golda Rosheuvel
• Miss Myrtle's Garden, by Danny James King, Olivier-nominated

Other venues to know

• Kiln Theatre, 290 seats on Kilburn High Road, another producing theatre for new plays
• Menier Chocolate Factory, a small theatre on Southwark Street, by London Bridge, rebuilt for each show
• Capital Theatre, at Westfield, a few minutes' walk from the Bush