The Donmar Warehouse is a not-for-profit theatre in a former industrial building in the West End. It was built as a vat room and hop warehouse for a local brewery, and went on to be used as a film studio, then the banana-ripening depot for Covent Garden Market. It was purchased in 1961 by Donald Albery and prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyne, who combined the first three letters of their Christian names to give the theatre its name.
It was, for a few years in the late 70’s, the London home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and during the 80’s it hosted a number of touring productions. In 1990, Sam Mendes became Artistic Director. He redesigned the performance space and started working on in-house productions. This continued, and many of them have gone on to transfer elsewhere and enjoy much success, including Guys and Dolls and Frost/Nixon.
The Donmar now presents at least 6 productions a year, including new writing, classics, British and American drama and small scale musicals. The auditorium holds 250 people over 2 levels. The seating is on benches and is unreserved so it’s a good idea to get there early so you can choose the best place. There is a bar on both levels and the building is air conditioned in warm weather.
A ramp can be placed over the step into the theatre for disabled guests and there is a lift to all floors in the auditorium. There is one space for a wheelchair user in the stalls. An adapted toilet is located off the bar on the Circle level.
The nearest tube station is Covent Garden (275m). There is one disabled parking space outside the theatre; otherwise, parking can be found on meters in the streets surrounding the theatre. Alternatives are the NCP’s on Drury Lane or Upper St Martin’s Lane, or the Westminster City Council car park at Cambridge Circus.
In our travels around the web, we found these Donmar Warehouse web pages useful. Contact us at team@tubehotels.com to list your favourite Donmar Warehouse website here.