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Pay What You Can Afford.
20,000 hours supporting unfunded artists
Pay What You Can mornings for unfunded artists and unfunded productions, built to cut against the rising cost of rehearsal rooms in London. No application, no proof of anything. Just show up and work. We promise, no matter what happens, to always provide a space on a pay-what-you-can basis.
Sign up for Pay What You Can →What's On
Box office →Develop
new work.
Playhouse East was born out of an acting-studio mindset and group-theatre principles. We workshop, we share, we collaborate. We believe that putting work in front of an audience is part of the development process.
This building might not always be where work finishes, but it's a place where great work starts. Work that started with us has gone on to international stages and screens.
There are a few ways to bring work to us: apply to have work mounted here, attend our monthly Scene Night, use our affordable rehearsal rooms, or get involved in our community.
Scene Night
New work from actors, writers and directors, shared with a supportive audience for live feedback. Hosted monthly by our Artistic Director, James Alexandrou. All welcome, from first-timers to seasoned pros.
Sign up to performRehearse here
Four affordable rooms across our two venues. See the Hire section below for spaces, rates and availability.
Hire a room ↓Train
Through our sister company Actors East, established in 2018, we train actors, writers and directors. You can sit in on a class to see how it actually runs. Better: come and take part.
Browse at Actors East ↗Submit your work
Apply to have your show mounted here. We aim to reply within 14 days.
Submit a show ↗Sister studio
Actors East.
Actors
East.
Actors East is the acting studio that built Playhouse East. Founded in 2018, the studio grew quickly after inviting world-renowned acting teacher Tom Radcliffe, himself a student of Sanford Meisner, to lead training. Today, Simon Furness runs the training, with drop-in classes throughout the week.
Hire a
room.
We run two venues with four working spaces: three performance rooms plus a dedicated self-tape and reading room, each available for hire, rehearsals or workshops. For anything beyond rehearsals or workshops, get in touch at contact@playhouseeast.com.
Haggerston · 84-seat theatre
The Playhouse.
Our main stage. For performances, screenings, talks, launches and film shoots. Daylight by morning, full blackout by night.
Haggerston · Rehearsal & workshop
Studio Tardieu.
Daylight studio with mirrors, sound and a full working day's worth of room. Built for rehearsal, classes, workshop work and small shoots.
Dalston · Full blackbox
AE Theatre.
The Actors East blackbox in Dalston. 60-cap floor, full studio kit, working bar nearby. The original room where it all started.
Haggerston · Self-tape & reading room
Self-Tape Room.
A dedicated room for self-tapes, readthroughs and writing days. Professional backdrops, two tripods, TV, blackout blinds and fast Wi-Fi for direct uploads.
Haggerston, London E8 4DG
Haggerston Overground, 2 min
Our resident bar & café, Hebe, is open most days; come visit.
boxoffice@playhouseeast.com
No refunds; credit towards a future show
Email us: contact@playhouseeast.com
Tue & Sun to 17:00, Mon closed
Bar open every show night · Studios 07:00–23:00
Studio booking info: actorseast.com/hire ↗
258 Kingsland Road, London E8 4DG
contact@playhouseeast.com
© 2026 Playhouse East Ltd · Reg. England 14728213