London

A hard-hitting theatre in well-heeled Sloane Square, the Royal Court has always placed emphasis on new British talent - from John Osborne's 'Look Back in Anger' in 1956, to the discovery of numerous playwrights over the past decade: Sarah Kane, Joe Penhall and Conor McPherson among them. Artistic director Dominic Cooke has always injected plenty of politics into the programmes and successfully decreased the age of his audiences too. This is where you'll find rude, lyrical new work set on the London streets by first-time playwrights like Bola Agbaje and the more established but no less cool Mark Ravenhill. Split between two floors - with the mid-capacity Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and the studio-style Jerwood Theatre Upstairs - the Royal Court also houses an excellent bookshop geared towards theatregoers and a café bar with a weighty menu serving up more than your average bag of peanuts.