The Unicorn Theatre is far from a typical theatre in terms of initial appearance and programming but, as such, it offers something fresh to the London theatre scene. The Unicorn is the UK’s leading theatre for young audiences, producing an eclectic and surprising programme of work year-round for children aged 6 months to 18 years.
Based in a purpose-built home at London Bridge, the Unicorn aims to connect artists and audiences through a broad range of work that is honest, refreshing and international in outlook, across a range of disciplines.
The Tooley Street building was designed by Keith Williams and opened in 2005. It houses two theatres as well as an education studio and a rehearsal space. Before moving into this new building, the theatre, which was founded in 1947, was based in the Arts Theatre. During its time here, it continued its programme of shows aimed at children in the afternoons with the Arts Theatre’s West End productions continuing in the evening.
The theatre presents and tours around twenty shows each year, at home and abroad, to around 80,000 children and their parents and carers, and they work extensively with schools and the community to invite children from all cultures into a conversation about art and the world we live in.
The main space has a capacity of 290 seats, whilst the more intimate studio theatre is capped at just 100 seats.