London

Started in the 1970s as London's first pub theatre on a spectacularly lean budget, the King's Head Theatre is a tiny space tucked away at the back of a charming Victorian boozer on Islington's Upper Street. In the past, it's helped launched a raft of stars, among them Hugh Grant, Steven Berkoff and Alan Rickman, and today boasts Joanna Lumley and Tom Stoppard as patrons. You're still likely to spot a few well-known faces as the King's Head Theatre has become a favourite crossover spot for television actors exercising their live performance and comedy muscles and for directors and producers scouting fresh talent. One thing that sets the theatre apart is its lunchtime programme.