Arcola Theatre

Arcola Theatre is an independent theatre founded in September 2000 by artistic director Mehmet Ergen and executive producer Leyla Nazli, originally on Arcola Street in Dalston before moving in January 2011 to its current home in a former paint factory on Ashwin Street. The building houses two studio theatre spaces plus rehearsal studios and a cafe-bar, staging new writing, international drama and revivals across a roughly 200-seat capacity spread over its stages. The theatre runs a youth theatre, an actors' training academy and community engagement programmes alongside its public programme, and is registered as a charity supported by Arts Council England among other funders. It remains a single-site Dalston venue rather than part of a wider theatre group, with a box office open Monday to Saturday, 1pm to 10pm, closed on Sundays outside performance times, and the venue itself opening around 45 minutes before curtain-up.