1. Soho Theatre entrance (Heloise Bergman / Time Out)
    Heloise Bergman / Time Out
  2. Soho Theatre sign (Andrew Brackenbury / Time Out)
    Andrew Brackenbury / Time Out
  3. Soho Theatre performace (Andrew Brackenbury / Time Out
)
    Andrew Brackenbury / Time Out

  4. Soho Theatre performace (Heloise Bergman / Time Out)
    Heloise Bergman / Time Out
  5. Soho Theatre exterior (Heloise Bergman  / Time Out)
    Heloise Bergman / Time Out

Soho Theatre

This neon-lit Soho venue is a megastore for the best comedy and fringe shows in town
  • Theatre | Off-West End
  • Soho
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

Its cool blue neon lights, front-of-house café and occasional late-night shows may blend it into the Soho landscape, but since taking up residence on Dean Street in 2000 Soho Theatre has made quite a name for itself.

Across three studio spaces, it puts on an eclectic line-up of work from some of the biggest names in comedy, spoken word, and cabaret, and hosts at least six different shows a night. If ever there were a place in London to get a year-round taste of the Edinburgh Fringe it's here, with its eclectic programming, late shows and ever-buzzing bar. Just don't expect to find deep-fried haggis on the menu - teas, coffees, and wine are the order of the day at Soho Theatre's chic cafe/bar, which is reliably packed out after 6pm.

It has to be said that Soho excels in almost every area apart from the production of good in-house theatre shows, something it's consistently struggled with (though it has many fine co-productions). But this barely impacts on anybody's good time, and it's hard to hold it against the most fun theatre in central London.

Details

Address
21 Dean St
London
W1D 3NE
Transport:
Tube: Tottenham Court Rd
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What’s on

Meow Meow: It’s Come to This

Having been away for some years cracking the States, performance legend Meow Meow returns to Soho Theatrre with a fresh set of her trademark ‘kamikaze cabaret’.
  • Cabaret and burlesque

Jordan Gray: Is That A C*ck In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Here To Kill Me?

Jordan Gray’s last show Is It a Bird? – an ebulliant set that featured highly original musings on both superheroes and being transgender – propelled the comic’s star to new hights. Inevitably it also aroused the ire of the not inconsiderable number of people in this country who dislike trans people. We don’t yet know a huge amount about the follow up, but the general inference is it’s about the backlash to Is It a Bird? and also cowboys. Whatever the case, it’ll probably a) include songs b) be very funny.
  • Stand-up

House of Life

This cult show has been blowing the minds of audiences ever since it debuted at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, and when I caught up with it during a boisterously sold out 2024 return, the night’s ticket holders couldn’t have been more up for House of Life. The evening is hosted by the glitter-bearded ‘the RaveRend’ with backing from besuited multi-instrumentalist Trev (aka theatrical duo Sheep Soup, aka Ben Welch and Lawrence Cole). I guess the vibe is a bit like a revival church crossed with a rave but much whiter and nerdier, as the RaveRend canvases audience members for their hopes, dreams and peccadillos and crafts them into uplifting, soul-inflected electronic songs. I’m going to be absolutely honest: while it was clear that 90 percent of audience members were having the night of their life, I couldn’t shake the sense that the whole thing felt a bit more like an enjoyable bonding game to play at a corporate getaway weekend than actively brilliant theatre. I’m not saying it’s cynical, but beyond the idea to fuse the euphoria of church and the euphoria of the club I’m not sure there’s a huge amount going on here once the duo have semi-freeformed their first song. Maybe I was just a little Fringe-weary at this point and struggled to get onboard with something that people around me were clearly loving. I think maybe it comes down to the fact that if you’re in the market for a Good Night Out, House of Life is liable to hit the mark forcefully, whereas if you’re trying to...
  • Experimental
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