The building housing the Almeida Theatre dates back to 1837. Originally home to the Islington Literary and Scientific Society, it included reading rooms, a laboratory and a lecture hall.  The architects were the popular partnership of Robert Lewis Roumieu and Alexander Dick Gough who also designed many of this area’s notable churches.

Over the years, the building has been used for a variety of functions, ranging from Victorian Music Hall to Salvation Army Citadel. After a brief period in the late 1950s housing a factory and showroom for Beck’s British Carnival Novelties, in the 1960s it fell into disrepair.

In 1972 the building was granted Grade II listed status by English Heritage and acquired by theatre by Lebanese-born opera & theatre director Pierre Audi. A public appeal was launched and in 1980 and following extensive reservations, the theatre opened with a festival of avant-garde music and theatre with Audi as artistic director.

As the Almeida’s reputation grew exponentially under Audi’s direction, this north London institution quickly became known for producing and commissioning theatre and opera, as well as operating as a receiving house for fringe, avant-garde, regional and international productions.

In the 1990s, Ian McDiarmid and Jonathan Kent took over as joint artistic directors, further cementing the venue’s reputation as a leading international venue, praised for its cosmopolitan, outward-looking approach with productions regularly transferring to the West End and Broadway.

As the 20^th century came to a close, the Almeida was awarded a £1.5 million Arts Council grant, enabling them to carry our essential repairs to the building. Work began in 2001 and the theatre company moved to a temporary new home in a converted King’s Cross bus station. Further funding of £5.8 million from the National Lottery allowed the completion of restoration, including extending the foyer, improved access, more comfortable seating and a total reconfiguration of the stage, roof, grid and technical facilities.

In 2002, Michael Attenborough took over as artistic director and in May 2003 the theatre re-opened with Trevor Nunn directing Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea.

Continuing its tradition of theatrical excellence, Attenborough’s approach to presenting bold and adventurous plays introduced classic American, British and Irish repertoire as well as new work and specially commissioned versions of international plays.

Following Attenborough’s decade long tenure, in 2013, Rupert Goold took over as Artistic Director with notable productions including Chimerica and King Charles III receiving huge critical acclaim.

In the auditorium, an unusual curved back wall creates an intimate atmosphere for audiences and the acting space has been described in press circles as both “intimate and epic” and “the most actor-friendly space in London”. Seating 325 people over two levels, the theatre uses padded bench seating benefitting from plenty of legroom – a nice surprise in any London theatre.

The Almeida Theatre takes its name from the Islington street on which it now stands. Formerly Wellington Street, the street was renamed Almeida Street in 1890 in honour of one of the Duke of Wellington’s military victories and takes its name from a small fortress town in north-east Portugal near the Spanish border.

Through its “Almeida Projects” education and community programme, the Almeida works closely with a number of Islington schools and teachers to grow cultural and creative networks within the local community and the theatre was one of the launch theatres for Digital Theatre, allowing a worldwide audience to access theatre from home.

The Almeida theatre is owned by the Almeida Theatre Trust.