NEWS: ARCHES LANE THEATRE TO CLOSE AS LANDLORD TERMINATES LEASE

AWARD-WINNING THEATRE FORCED TO CLOSE AS BATTERSEA POWER STATION UNEXPECTEDLY TERMINATES LEASE

ARCHES LANE THEATRE LAUNCHES EMERGENCY CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN AFTER LANDLORD TRIGGERS BREAK CLAUSE TO REPLACE NON-PROFIT ARTS SPACE WITH COMMERCIAL HOSPITALITY OPERATOR

Arches Lane Theatre, a 100-seat independent theatre in Wandsworth, faces permanent closure after its landlord, Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC), unexpectedly exercised a break clause despite publicly celebrating the success of the theatre as “an important and highly valued resource for the local community.”

Led by award-winning Artistic Director Sharon Willems (Best Cultural Champion, Wandsworth Women's Enterprise Awards) and Executive Director Leo Bacica - operating as non-profit Kibo Productions - Arches Lane Theatre provided free community access to the arts for local residents during Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture celebrations. It is set to be replaced by a commercial hospitality venture - Just over a year after BPSDC awarded Kibo the space through a public competitive tender process. The eviction cuts short a joint three-year plan designed to increase local access to the arts.

Beyond its theatrical productions, Arches Lane Theatre is a cultural hub for the local community - hosting live music, stand-up comedy, cabaret, and serving as the local home for regular children’s theatre classes. The theatre was fully programmed until the end of 2026 and has been forced to undertake the immediate cancellation of its autumn and winter schedules including programming for the Voila! Festival, the theatre's festive winter season and community initiatives after learning of its impending eviction.

Sharon Willems, Artistic Director of Arches Lane Theatre said:

“We are crushed by the decision to close Arches Lane Theatre. We were brought in by BPSDC to breathe life back into this theatre, and for the past year we gave everything we had to build a thriving community hub. To deliver on that vision, only to be shut out of conversations around our future and blind-sided once the decision was made, is devastating.”

“In a year we created an open, accessible theatre where neighbours could connect, local children could experience their very first theatre outing, and visitors could get creative together - so that this new real estate development might begin to become a genuine, thriving neighbourhood. Culture and community aren't just buzzwords, they are essential to the vitality of this area, and they're good business.”

The theatre is being handed over to commercial hospitality operator "Off-Grid," despite the Battersea Power Station estate already hosting over 50 food and beverage outlets, including five bars and restaurants on Arches Lane.

The sudden forced eviction leaves Kibo Productions facing the urgent burden of dismantling, transporting, and storing specialist theatre equipment. They are launching an emergency crowdfunder that will cover these immediate operational costs while safeguarding the independent company through this abrupt closure.

A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT FOR LONDON’S CULTURAL SPACES

The decision marks a significant operational shift for BPSDC. A dedicated arts and community venue has anchored the cultural offering in Arch 756 for nearly a decade - originally launched in 2017 as 'The Village Hall', later operating as The Turbine Theatre (established with support from the late West End producer Bill Kenwright), and currently as Arches Lane Theatre under Kibo Productions.

Willems added:

“To see what was originally created as the estate’s dedicated cultural 'Village Hall', and later became The Turbine Theatre - launching groundbreaking work like Rob Madge’s My Son's A Queer - now reduced to a function room in a commercial hospitality venture is devastating. We built Arches Lane Theatre to carry their legacy into the future and it’s been wonderful to have so many locals discovering us and telling us how glad they were to find a theatre on their doorstep. Closing the theatre is a huge loss for the area and sets an alarming precedent. If a successful, dedicated theatre can be so easily steamrolled out of existence, no cultural space in London is safe. Independent cultural spaces must be valued, protected, and properly invested in - not treated as temporary placeholders for commercial operators.”

Zakiyyah Deen, local playwright and workshop leader with the Arches Lane Theatre Wave Writers programme - a series of free playwriting workshops for local women of African and Caribbean backgrounds - commented:

“It is a terrible shame to hear about the closing down of Arches Lane Theatre. A place like this is a safe haven not only for working creatives but for community members in the local area looking to connect with the arts. It is an essential home for artists and those in the local area.”

Willems concluded:

“Our priority now is to honour our promises to our artists in our final season and to safely close the theatre with the respect it deserves. It has been a profound honour to serve as stewards of Arches Lane Theatre, and I’ll always be proud of the moments of creativity and connection we shared together here.”

A CALL TO PROTECT LOCAL CULTURAL SPACES

Arches Lane Theatre is calling on the public to support its final scheduled programming (live performances will conclude 27 September) and to back its emergency crowdfunding campaign. Support the emergency crowdfunder here: http://bit.ly/3Sct77p

The theatre has formally raised the eviction with Nine Elms Ward Councillor Matt Corner and is in conversation with Wandsworth’s Arts & Culture Team, The Theatres Trust, and the GLA (Greater London Authority) Culture at Risk team to navigate the closure and advocate for the preservation of independent cultural infrastructure in Wandsworth.

The closure raises urgent questions for local leaders: 

Is this the true legacy of the London Borough of Culture - using an independent theatre to build cultural capital, only to close it to commercial operators the moment the celebrations end? 

The theatre is urging Wandsworth Council and policymakers to intervene—scrutinising planning obligations (such as Section 106 agreements) on private developments and actively protecting proven, non-profit operators like Kibo Productions so their vital work can continue.  

All details in this article are correct at time of publishing and are subject to change.

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