Arcola Theatre, Stoke Newington, London

A fantastic, unassuming little theatre hidden away in Dalston. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel cool just knowing it exists and that you can’t wait to tell all of your friends about. It’s only a shame that such a champion of fringe [weird] theatre is tucked away in a relatively remote place (if you’ve never taken the Overground, this is your chance).
They also know how to make great use of their space, both in the performance sense and just in their lobby - plenty of seating for everyone, but a good amount of room to stretch out. The LED lighting in the lobby is also just neat to look at (who’d have thought that over-sized bike lights would actually work well for lighting a room?). They also serve Monmouth Coffee at the bar.

It’s a shame it’s ridiculously impossible to get to this theatre as they put some really quality new shows on. It’s slightly more obscure stuff, and the crowd occasionally pretentious (there’s some scary middle class, bohemian teens like to hang out in the foyer) and I’m not sure their pricing is right for the area/type of theatre it is, however probably necessary due to funding restrictions.

The box office staff are HIDEOUS however, very rude and surly. Last time they refused to give a couple of girls in front of me a discount as their student cards were 2 days out of date. When the girls explained they had not been issued new NUS cards yet but offered alternative proof of their studies the young woman behind the desk snapped them and denial and went on to be so brusque and condescending they chose not to see the show at all!

The Arcola theatre is one of those places that I’ve been telling myself I really need to visit. However a succession of evenings at the Yoga centre, art gallery or climbing wall have put paid to that happening. And now I have, I wish I had dragged myself there sooner.

It’s an intimate and enchanting space with a ramshackle charm reminiscent of the bars I went to in East Berlin. There’s no sign denoting its existence (that’s so Hackney, darling), so it’s up to you and your Sherlock Holmes detective skills to work out that that place that looks like it could be a theatre and is on Arcola Street is in fact… The Arcola theatre.

I went on ‘pay what you can night’ (a Tuesday) which means that you can be on the brink of destitution and still get to see a play for £1. Result. The people that run the theatre are a very ecologically sound bunch: their snacks (chocolate cakes crisp and olives) are all organic, as are some of their wines, and I even noticed a composting box at the side of the bar.

The play my friend and I saw (The Ballad of Crazy Paola) was quite… ahem… ‘experimental’; a story of a single mother that lived a wild and wasted life with a drummer called Serge. The play centres on her unexpected meeting with Serge’s jealous younger brother, who answers an ad for drumming lessons for her son. I might try seeing Tombstone Tales next time I go; I could hear the action reverberating through the walls when I was busy watching Crazy Paola, and wondered whether I should have been next door!

This is a small urban theatre located within a thriving Turkish community and this is often reflected in the work shown at this venue. There is space to hire to hold auditions and castings as well and there is a bar to hang out/network in for all budding busy creatives with the added bonus of free wi-fi.

Tuesdays are pay what you can night so worth making a trip for on that basis alone.

There is also a fabulous Turkish restaurant with yummy cheap food right opposite - a must for all carnivores!

I went here about a year ago, and saw an awful play…but I’m not going to hold that against them, as it was a theatre company who are famous for being the drama equivilant to Tracey Enim…love it or hate it…is it or is it not art etc etc!

The actual theatre feel really nice, the cafe bit has really nice food, so its worth arriving early just for that. I know as well that they do alot of shows, and have a high turnover, so there’s bound to be something for everyone at some point!