LGBT theatre closed due to venue costs - owners

Above The Stag was based in a railway arch in Vauxhall

A south London theatre that was an exclusively LGBTQ+ performance space has had to shut due to financial costs and works required at the premises, it has been announced.

The owners of Above The Stag said on Sunday that the Vauxhall venue would close immediately, despite a new production having only just started a run.

In a further statement released on Tuesday, operations director and producer Andy Hill explained the theatre was having to close as "it has not been possible to come up with a feasible business plan for the next five years in our existing venue".

However, he added the theatre had been promised finances to continue and "the search for our new home begins now".

The venue has said anybody who bought tickets for productions will be fully refunded

The award-winning theatre, which included a cabaret lounge and bar, was originally based above a pub but later moved to a railway arch in Vauxhall.

In the statement, Mr Hill said the past few years the theatre had spent there had been "happy and successful but financially very challenging", and, as such, Above The Stage would have to leave its home.

He added that another factor was Network Rail having to carry out a brick safety inspection and repairs to the arches within the next six months, meaning the space was going to have to be cleared for that time.

Mr Hill said the theatre's equipment and furniture had been placed in storage and the search for a new home had begun, with some £2m being promised by benefactors over the next five years.

"Above The Stag is still very much alive and kicking," he said.