About
An innovative & award-winning fringe pub theatre in Clapham, South London
'one of the most exciting ones amongst the London pub theatres!'
- RemoteGoat
'an extremely ethical organisation'
- London Pub Theatres Magazine
'a new wave of venues (....) – all on the sort of sweetheart deals of old. Further proof, then, that it’s far from last orders for pub theatre.'
- The Guardian
A 40- to 60-seat fringe venue above The Bread & Roses Pub, the theatre programs a wide-spread variety of productions for local as well as far-reaching audiences. Artistic quality, equality and diversity are at the forefront of the theatre's programming, which features visiting companies as well as in-house productions, with a focus on new writing, underrepresented voices and distinctive work. The theatre has worked with award-winning ensembles with decades of experience but also frequently welcomes emerging companies taking their first steps and supports theatre-makers by providing box office split deals with no hidden fees. The programme includes new writing, contemporary revivals, reinvented classics and occasionally also devised work, improvisational theatre, comedy events, family shows and physical theatre.
Located within walking distance of several Underground and Overground stations in London Travel Zone 2 (Clapham North, Clapham Common, Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road) as well as many bus routes nearby, the theatre sits in a brilliant location. Furthermore, the pub downstairs offers drinks, food, a beer garden and on Fridays and Saturdays often live music after the theatre performances. Since 2018 the theatre also publishes selected scripts that premiere at the venue.
Located within walking distance of several Underground and Overground stations in London Travel Zone 2 (Clapham North, Clapham Common, Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road) as well as many bus routes nearby, the theatre sits in a brilliant location. Furthermore, the pub downstairs offers drinks, food, a beer garden and on Fridays and Saturdays often live music after the theatre performances. Since 2018 the theatre also publishes selected scripts that premiere at the venue.
'this kind of venue proves what can be accomplished in the city’s smaller performance spaces' - 17Percent
Photographer: Ricardo Correia
Previous shows include: 5-star-reviewed in-house productions of The Black Eye Club (Phil Charles), dirty butterfly (debbie tucker green), Low Level Panic (by Clare McIntyre) and Miss Julie (by August Strindberg, adapted by Tessa Hart) presented by the Bread & Roses Theatre Company; acclaimed 4-star-reviewed premiers of new plays White Feathers (by Suzy Gill), presented by Blue Ash Theatre Company, and Cooked (by Christopher Adams), presented by ScotchBonnet Theatre; a 5-star-reviewed new take on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (by John Foster) presented by Doppelganger Production; 5-star-reviewed Muscovado (by Matilda Ibini) which went on to tour the UK presented by BurntOut Theatre; the 5-star reviewed premier of The Princess Monologues as well as the ground-breaking One Billion Rising and UNHEARD Festivals presented by Goblin Baby Theatre Co.; yearly sold-out V-Day benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues (by Eve Ensler); the premier of a brand-new translation of Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding (by Fay Lomas) presented by Dreamcatcher Theatre; and the London premier of Romeo & Rosaline (by Sharon Jennings) presented by award-winning theatre company Fentiman; a 5-star-reviewed revival of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) presented by Burn Bright Theatre; as well as many more as the theatre has worked with over 100 companies at this stage!
'exploring London’s fantastic fringe theatre scene is a rewarding experience, and at a fraction of cost of the big well-known productions. The Bread & Roses Theatre works well as a venue and made for the perfect setting' - LondonTheatre1
 Managing Director Rebecca Pryle & Executive Director Tessa Hart
In 2015 The theatre's team also went on to launch the Clapham Fringe Festival as well as The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award and The Bread & Roses Emerging Companies Award.
On September 21st 2015 The Bread & Roses Theatre was announced as a recipient of the 2015 ICWP 50/50 Applause Award and also listed on TimeOut as one of their readers' six favourite small-scale theatres in London. The theatre also received the ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 the venue and pub together were commended by the Time & Leisure Food & Culture Awards as one of the most innovative art projects and in 2019 it was picked by TravelMag as one of the best 8 pub theatres in London. |
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The Pub
The Bread & Roses Pub is owned by the Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council. This is a lay run local trade union body which is the South West London arm of the national TUC. BWTUC, trading through its Workers Beer Company fundraising arm, has been running bars at festivals throughout the UK and Ireland for over 27 years. It trades at Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Latitude, Proms in Hyde Park, Tolpuddle Festival and many more including the free Olympics Live Sites event in Victoria Park throughout the Olympics in 2012. The Bread and Roses in Clapham is the Company's first pub and is a great place for live music, comedy and theatre.
To find out more about the pub and its history go to www.breadandrosespub.com. |
The Theatre
The in-house Bread & Roses Theatre Company (BRTC), founded in summer 2012, has been running regular new writing night The Platform since October that year, in what was initially nothing more than the upstairs function room at The Bread & Roses Pub. Following these first regular theatre performances at the venue other companies and groups started enquiring about the space and putting up scratch performances and showcases. Hence the idea of creating a permanent pub theatre at the venue was born.
After some major refurbishing work of the space and the investment in lights and stages - all sponsored by the fabulous Bread & Roses Pub - the theatre was then officially launched in November 2014 under the management of the BRTC. Since the launch the theatre has immediately been able to build up a busy and diverse quality programme, which is going from strength to strength. |
Short documentary for the theatre's second anniversary in 2016
Why 'Bread & Roses'?
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Bread and Roses was a song written during a strike of women textile workers in Lawrence Massachusetts, USA in 1912. Twenty seven thousand women went on strike and marched for eleven weeks to improve their working conditions.
Their banners called for bread and roses and a poet among them, James Oppenheim, wrote these words, which went on to become a famous song for women trade unionists everywhere and is still sung by delegates to the ICTU Women's Conference at the conclusion of the conference. The pub is named in recognition of their struggle and the theatre and in-house theatre company consequently decided to adopt the same name. |
As we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray, Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses, For the people hear us singing: "Bread and roses! Bread and roses!" As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men, For they are women's children, and we mother them again. Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes; Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses! As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread. Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew. Yes, it is bread we fight for—but we fight for roses, too! As we come marching, marching, we bring the greater days. The rising of the women means the rising of the race. No more the drudge and idler—ten that toil where one reposes, But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses! Bread and roses! |
Examples of The Bread & Roses Theatre covered in the press and media
In June 2016 The Bread & Roses Theatre was featured as pub theatre of the month by the London Pub Theatres Magazine.
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Our Edinburgh Fringe Previews (July 2015), Clapham Fringe (September 2015) and One Billion Rising Festival (February 2016) were all covered by television channel London Live.
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The Stage, the world's longest-running publication for the performing arts industry, featured our launch in October 2014!
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Female Arts published an interview with the venue's co-managers Tessa Hart & Rebecca Pryle.
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After another interview with the theatre's co-managers the SW Londoner also published an article about our launch.
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