Stratford East

Talk about having a lot to live up to: in the '50s and '60s Theatre Royal Stratford East was arguably the most influential theatre in London, thanks to the presence of the visionary Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop.

These days its output tends to send fewer shockwaves around the world. But under recent artistic director Nadia Fall it has a lively and diverse programme with a breadth and eclectism somewhat comparable to the National Theatre’s. 

Her lasting legacy may be to have dropped the ‘Theatre Royal’ from the name, though to be fair it’s hardly impossible to contemplate the idea a future AD might change it back. Her successor is Lisa Spirling, formerly of Theatre 503.