After twelve years in their respective tenures at the subsidised National Theatre, Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner (Artistic Director) and Nick Starr (Executive Director) departed to form the London Theatre Company with a unified dream to present popular and ambitious theatre in the commercial sector.

Challenging the idea that any new commercial theatre would need to be in the West End, they turned their focus instead to the newly regenerated area between London Bridge & Tower Bridge on the south bank of the Thames.

The Bridge opened with a production of ‘Young Marx’ on the 18th of October 2017 starring Rory Kinnear.

The Bridge focuses on commissioning and producing new work – of the first eight shows announced, only Julius Caesar nodded to the classics. Four of the premieres were by female writers – a conscious and welcome decision by Hytner who had been accused of failing to do enough to advance the cause of women in theatre during his time at the National Theatre.

The new 900-seat adaptable auditorium is designed to meet the needs of the modern audience and its versatile design enables end-stage, thrust-stage and promenade productions to be mounted, allowing writers & directors tremendous artistic freedom.

The structure of the theatre was constructed in a factory in Thetford, Norfolk by Tait Stage Technologies, coming in 57 separate pieces, split down into towers and seating galleries which were then re-assembled in situ.

The Bridge is the first large new theatre be added to London’s commercial theatre sector in 80 years.

The Bridge was designed by Steve Tompkins and Roger Watts of Haworth Tompkins Architects (winner of the 2014 Stirling Prize) with acoustic design by Gilleron Scott and built at a cost of £11.6 million.