Formerly based above a Notting Hill pub, the theatre earned a reputation for radical plays with new talent yet had a 100% loss of Arts Council England funding in 2022
The Gate theatre in London, which has punched above its weight ever since it was founded above a Notting Hull pub in 1979, is to close permanently next month.
The announcement comes four years after the theatre had what it described as a “devastating” 100% cut to its Arts Council England funding of just over £300,000, losing its status as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The Gate had relocated a few months earlier to a new, more accessible home at Theatro Technis in north London.
In 2024 it announced it was no longer viable to be based year-round in one building and began to work peripatetically with partner venues.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the theatre cited the lack of regular subsidy, as well as rising production costs and increased competition for funds from trusts and foundations, as creating a precarious situation. Thanks to key supporters, the Gate had still been able “to deliver extraordinary work under incredible pressure” it said, but “it has become apparent that this is not sustainable in the long-term”.
Atri Banerjee, artistic lead at the Gate, said “it has been the hugest honour to help lead the artistic mission of the organisation through trying times”. The Gate, added Banerjee, “has always been a place that has understood that looking outward is the best way to look more closely at oneself; where artists could arrive with different languages, different traditions, different perspectives, and be met with curiosity, encouragement and support.
The Gate is closing, but the international, experimental and generous spirit it has championed will continue in the artists and audiences who have been changed by it.”
The Gate was founded by Lou Stein above Notting Hill’s Prince Albert pub in 1979. Stein directed its inaugural production, At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’ Brien, and served as artistic director until 1985.
Over that time, Stein directed productions of The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill and an adaptation of Hunter S Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the Gate opened a second home, at the Latchmere pub in Battersea (now home to Theatre503).
Stephen Daldry, Katie Mitchell and Sarah Kane all directed productions at the Gate. Actors including Sophie Okonedo, Jude Law, Kathy Burke and Paterson Joseph appeared there and its stage was used to showcase a rich variety of international talent. Its artistic directors have included Daldry, David Farr, Erica Whyman, Thea Sharrock, Christopher Haydon and Ellen McDougall. From 2007 to 2012, Natalie Abrahami and Carrie Cracknell ran the space together.
The theatre always retained a reputation for presenting radical and political plays while also ushering in new talent. Its notable successes included Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed, George Brant’s Grounded and Lucy Kirkwood’s Hedda. The recent productions Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi and Bootycandy by Robert O’Hara were highly praised by the Guardian.
Chair of the board, Rahul Streatfeild-Sinha, said: “For generations of artists, the Gate has represented a place where international perspectives could be placed at the centre of British theatre; where experimentation has been welcomed; and where audiences could encounter stories, artists and ideas from beyond their immediate experience. It is with an extremely heavy heart that the Board has come to the decision to close.”
Interim executive director, Alice Linnane, hailed the tenacity of the staff and creatives who had worked with the Gate. “Its closure is an acute loss for our industry and for artists.
Like so many arts organisations across the UK, we have been operating in an incredibly difficult climate. Funding that reduces in real terms year-on-year, rising costs, and a fiercely competitive fundraising environment have left many of us living hand-to-mouth, and this has unfortunately become impossible to sustain.”
The theatre company Stockroom, which also lost its NPO status in 2022, closed at the end of last year.