The Gate Theatre was founded in 1979 to stage groundbreaking international plays.
Today, the Gate exists to make international theatre that is representative of our diverse local communities – from the people we collaborate with, to the stories we tell – our work investigates what it means to be alive now.
The Gate is a nurturing space for artists to imagine, play, think, and create theatre that surprises, challenges and inspires. Our productions push the boundaries of what theatre is and what else it could be.
Our work is a live conversation with our audience and our local partner organisations. The Gate was first founded in 1979 in Notting Hill, operating in an intimate, 75 seat space above the Prince Albert pub. As of July 2022, the Gate moved to a more accessible theatre space in Camden.
The Gate Theatre has and always will use a space that transforms with every production – no two visits are ever the same.
If you would like to find out more about how we work please visit our Policies page.
The Gate Theatre is a true Cinderella story. With little money and an awkward space, it has shown how a small theatre, led with courage, imagination and a strong sense of what it is, can grow into one of the most important and internationally influential theatrical powerhouses.
Our Values
REPRESENTATION
We are committed to equal opportunities and creating a culture at the Gate that is antiracist, anti-classist, collaborative, respectful,
kind, open, supportive and inclusive to everyone.
We recognise that upholding this culture involves ongoing work and everyone in our organisation. We invest in mentoring and training to ensure that we are constantly doing this work. We believe that diverse teams, across all levels of an organisation, make for better conversation, clearer insights and meaningful work.
INVENTION
Our work fundamentally explores what theatre is and what else it could be. The relationship between a story, its form, and the audience, is reimagined for every production. We are not afraid to take artistic risks or try new things.
INTERNATIONALISM
We are proud of our history of collaborating with artists and companies from outside our borders. Our relocation to 26 Crowndale Road, home to Theatro Technis, in Somers Town is one of the most diverse areas in London with a rich history of immigration from all over the world.
This area is home to prominent Bangladeshi, Black African and Irish groups in a transient community from people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds with 44% of residents who are economically inactive and 50% of children living in poverty. We serve our community by telling rich and nuanced stories representative of the multi-generational diasporic communities on our doorstep.
We believe that international collaboration and artistic encounters between cultures and across borders is a radical, important act.
COMMUNITY
Our theatre is a space for our local community to share stories and experiences that are representative and relevant to them. Our aim is to provide resources and expertise to bolster existing local activity working collaboratively to support grass roots culture. Through this sustained engagement we aim to develop a deep understanding of our community’s aspirations, interests and needs. Our deepening dialogue will enable us to learn what stories they need to tell, and to create opportunities for communities to come together. In recent years, our community engagement has been focused around working with charity partners in our borough with a specific focus on vulnerable young people.
Our outreach projects take our creative work out of our theatre and into the community, where it meets local people who perhaps wouldn’t otherwise engage with us.
SUSTAINABILITY
We actively recognise we must play a part in addressing climate justice. The climate crisis is also a crisis of the imagination, and we commit to responding to this challenge both practically and creatively.
Our commitment to environmental sustainability, manifest in our Green Gate policy, is a central focus for us and our approach to making work. We actively encourage our audiences and artists to join us in this commitment.
EXCELLENCE
The Gate has a long tradition and reputation for being a small-scale theatre that produces work of exceptional quality. It has nurtured many leading artists at the very beginning of their careers. Katie Mitchell, Paterson Joseph, Sarah Kane, Sophie Okonedo, and more recently Lynette Linton and Justin Audibert, began their careers here.
We recognise that excellence is totally dependent on creating a safe, nurturing environment, that is empowering and supportive for everyone who works at the Gate.
Not only have the Gate strengthened my commitment for daring, radical and joyful work, and educated me on the countless ways in which to achieve that, but they have given me my London professional stage debut. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life.
