Theatre closure a 'catastrophic loss to actors'

The closure of a theatre in the heart of London's West End where generations of actors trained is a "catastrophic loss to the acting industry and the arts", campaigners say.

The Actors Centre moved to the Covent Garden site in 1994 following a fundraising effort by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

It was first given to the actors on a 999-year lease with a peppercorn rent, but in 2021 it became the Seven Dials Playhouse (SDP), pivoting away from a training house to become a receiving theatre and the group was forced to leave.

At its peak it hosted 1,700 workshops each year, supported by more than 5,000 members, including founding member Dame Sheila Hancock.

The theatre building was sold for £3.6m in September 2024 to "generate new revenue streams and build a sustainable future, following the collapse of the old membership and training model" but was liquidated within 18 months.

A statement said despite "extensive efforts to stabilise the organisation... it has become clear that Seven Dials Playhouse can no longer continue operating on a viable basis".

Thirteen members of staff, some part-time, will lose their jobs. SDP owes some contractors thousands of pounds.

Kate Maravan, director of The New Actors Centre, said its loss was "devastating because it was more than a building".

She said: "I feel anger at the loss of this massive asset that was built up for the charity over decades. I hope that the people who did this are held accountable."

"I do feel a deep sadness. I think, in a way, they drained it of its heart.

"So often we'd walk past it and it would just be empty: a building that had been filled with actors and creative artists across the profession, bustling, alive, a place to meet, a place to hang out, have a coffee, do a class, meet people, collaborate, just became this empty space.

"It feels like the heart's been taken out of it."

SDP chief executive Amanda Davey called the 31 March closure "an incredibly painful moment". It came months after the Charity Commission launched an investigation and appointed interim managers.

The commission said its inquiry "was carefully examining the charity's financial management and governance to understand the events and decisions that led to the charity's serious financial challenges".

Louise Bangay, who campaigned with Actor at the Centre to save the original Actors Centre, told BBC London she got her first job through the venue.

She said: "A lot of love and a lot of effort went into creating that for actors, by actors.

"It was very valuable in that actors could arrive, go through lines with people, do classes, have a cup of tea, find out what was going on and end up collaborating on work together."

Asked about the closure of the SDP, she added: "It's a feeling of despair that the Charities Commission... did not see from the outset that this business model was duff.

"It feels very tragic, unnecessary. I feel a sense of disappointment for people like Anthony Hopkins and Alan Bates, I feel a sense of fury about the people who have caused it and I feel like I wish I could have done more."

Ayvianna Snow is a director of the New Actors Centre and also chair of the Equity actors union's London north branch and is calling for a "proper inquiry into the financial mismanagement that has been taking place".

She said: "This is incredibly damaging. The Seven Dials Playhouse set itself up as being a home for young artists.

"They were supposedly ostensibly going to help young people get into this very precarious industry but all this week I have been receiving phone calls from my members who have been left out of pocket to the tune of thousands of pounds.

"The union is very, very, very angered by this mismanagement and the lies that have been told to these young people."

In January, Marylebone Theatre artistic director Alexander Gifford and Rudolf Steiner House cultural programme director Adrian Locher offered the displaced actors a fresh space and start.

Speaking at January's launch of The New Actors Centre at Marylebone Theatre, Dame Sheila, one of Britain's most respected actors, singers and writers, said there had been "a queue around the block" for workshops in 1978.

She said: "We did work really hard to get it off the ground. It was sometimes quite heartbreaking and difficult because we didn't have the communication that you've got nowadays but it was worth it.

"It's such a lonely business ours. When you're out of work, you just feel there's nobody out there but if you've got somewhere to come and have a coffee or talk about a bit of work or maybe do a dialogue or anything, it keeps you alive."

Harry Burton, one of the directors of The New Actors Centre, said the loss of the old centre was a "sorry saga" but said "there is now affordable, continuous training back on the map for the acting profession".

He said: "The people that we see every day and every night on television and in the cinemas, they are the cream of the cream and they are the lucky ones who get offered an awful lot of the work first.

"But there's a huge body of workers underneath that top layer who need to be supported, sustained, who need opportunities to create community, to be together, to make work, to try things out, to experiment, and to just hang out and have a cup of tea and have a chat and Marylebone Theatre has given us that opportunity, and we're very grateful for that."

In a statement, Amanda Davey, chief executive of SDP, said: "This is an incredibly painful moment for everyone who has cared for, worked in and built Seven Dials Playhouse.

"I am immensely proud of our staff team, who have shown extraordinary compassion, professionalism and resilience through an exceptionally difficult period.

"Seven Dials Playhouse has mattered deeply to so many creatives, independent companies and audiences, and I know this loss will be felt across our community and across the wider sector.

"While this is an immensely sad ending, I remain deeply proud of what this organisation has made possible, and honoured to have been a part of it."

In a joint statement, the board of trustees said: "The trustees want to thank the staff, artists, supporters, partners and communities who have shaped Seven Dials Playhouse, and acknowledge the important role it has played in supporting new voices in central London."

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: "We are aware that Seven Dials Playhouse closed last month and that many will be saddened by this outcome.

"As part of our ongoing statutory inquiry into the charity, we have been monitoring events closely, liaising with the interim manager appointed last October.

"It is important that we take our time to conduct a thorough investigation. We will publish a report once our inquiry has concluded, setting out our findings and conclusions, and making clear what regulatory action we have taken, and why".

Joseph Colley, partner at appointed liquidator Moore Kingston Smith & Partners said: "Sadly our findings made it clear that Seven Dials Playhouse continuing to operate wasn't an option, and the trustees made the difficult decision to close it.

"As usual, it's our duty to work closely and support the stakeholders in a smooth closure process that's handled with empathy for all the employees, artists and stakeholders affected."

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