Theatre / the wardrobe theatre
Celebrating a decade of the Wardrobe Theatre in Old Market
When The Wardrobe Theatre flung open its doors in Old Market during Christmas 2015, it was with minimal fanfare and funding, but with paint still drying on the walls and friends still holding hammers.
The space – once a bank, then a gay cabaret club, then briefly derelict – had been reborn by sheer willpower, grit and a community’s love for theatre.
Ten years later, The Wardrobe Theatre is not only a pillar of Bristol’s performance scene but a living testament to what can happen when creativity meets collaboration.
The Wardrobe Theatre’s story began modestly: “It was only supposed to be a pop-up,” recalls artistic director & CEO, Matthew Whittle; “just a few months running a venue above The White Bear pub on St Michael’s Road. But audiences and artists loved it and four years later, we were still there”.
Box office at The Wardrobe Theatre – photo: Diego Maeso
That temporary experiment became a movement. By 2015, the team had outgrown their attic theatre and began dreaming bigger. A new space beckoned – something purpose-built for performance, yet still accessible, scrappy and distinctly Bristol.
“When we saw the new space in Old Market for the first time it felt right straight away”, remembers co-founder and technical director, Chris Collier, who project managed the conversion of this derelict room into the new Wardrobe Theatre. “We got the green light, and suddenly we were knee-deep in plaster dust and spreadsheets!”
The theatre before renovation – photo: The Wardrobe Theatre
The renovation was no mean feat. “We were still fundraising while we were building so we had no set budget. I had no idea what I could realistically spend money on and was constantly doing call outs for people to come and help. We were working 7am til midnight, most days”, Chris recalls.
“At one point, I’d sent the wrong measurements for the seating bank legs because I was so burnt out, I just sat in the car park and cried. It just felt impossible. But every day, people showed up to help – family, friends, old schoolmates, theatremakers. Everyone gave what they could.”
The Lost Cabaret – photo: Sam Cavender
The Wardrobe Theatre’s beginnings in Old Market were as DIY as it gets: mismatched chairs and repurposed wood but unshakable optimism. “It was a total labour of love,” says Chris. “Money came in as we spent it. Everything was borrowed, begged, or donated.”
When the doors opened that December, The Wardrobe Theatre’s first Christmas show in Old Market, Goldilock, Stock & Three Smoking Bears, sold out. The audience squeezed into a newly built 100-seater, surrounded by traces of the building’s past – the old bank vault-turned kitchen, the cabaret stage reborn for fringe theatre. Bristol had a new home for storytelling, comedy and theatre.
Oedipuss In Boots by The Wardrobe Theatre – Christmas 2018 – photo: Jack Offord
For Aisha Ali who joined originally in the old space on St Michaels Hill as a volunteer and is now The Wardrobe Theatre’s theatre manager and artist development producer, the community was the real magic: “When we opened the new theatre, everyone chipped in. People were painting, building, running the box office – it was all hands on deck. That spirit has never left”.
Their first memories are vivid: “The old Wardrobe Theatre space was tiny – you’d buy your ticket from a table in the pub downstairs, then climb up into this little attic theatre. The new space felt palatial in comparison and all the more special as it was built by the community”.
Nish Kumar at The Wardrobe, 2016 – photo: Adam Fung
They recalled a memorable early show: “We once had a performer dressed as a sperm talking to the audience. When some people’s heckling crossed the line, I had to ask them to leave – everyone in the audience cheered because they were really on the side of the performer!
“Another night, a man turned up to watch his brother’s show, expecting a small performance space at the back of a pub with three people in the audience and when he saw the theatre and I told him 78 people were in he said ‘I think I’ve just pooed myself a bit… but don’t worry, you don’t need to clean it up or anything’. That’s The Wardrobe Theatre – always surprising.”
Story Slam – James Williams – photo: Diego Maeso
The Wardrobe Theatre has always been a playground for imagination and risk. Its stages have seen everything from Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera – a cult Bristol phenomenon now more than 250 episodes deep – to monthly events like Story Slam where members of the audience share their stories onstage, countless comedians (may of whom are now household names) to the theatre’s infamous, irreverent Christmas mash-ups like The Good, The Bad & The Coyote Ugly, Little Women In Black, Oedipuss In Boots and Reservoir Mogs.
“Every highlight would be too many to list,” says Matthew. “Lucy Harrington crowd-surfing during Beyond The Ridiculous. The gasp when Sheryl exposed her bare breasts in Drac & Jill. Miss Piggy trying to snog Alan Rickman in Muppets Die Hard. Daniel Kitson waving a giant fan over a sweltering audience the week before we got air-con. It’s chaos and joy in equal measure.”
The Good, The Bad & The Coyote Ugly by The Wardrobe Theatre – Christmas 2023 – photo: Craig Fuller
That balance of variety, informality, stagecraft and intimacy is what makes The Wardrobe Theatre special. “It’s a place for artists to experiment,” says Aisha. “For people to test ideas, fail, laugh and start again. Fringe theatre is personal and political – it’s where people see themselves represented on stage.”
Over the last ten years, thousands of performers, theatre companies, comedians, storytellers, musicians, poets and non-performers having a go have passed across our stage. Groups like The Shade Pullers & Lash Stackers Social Club, The Lost Cabaret, Wonderhaus, Kiota, Chuckle Busters, Story Slam, Aftermirth, Rock The Tots, Milk Poetry and Closer Each Day have found a creative home here, nurturing new audiences, voices and performance artforms.
The Shade Pullers & Lash Stackers Social Club – February 2025 – photo: Caitlin Damsell
No story of the past decade would be complete without the challenge of the pandemic. “It was devastating,” admits Matthew. “Hundreds of shows cancelled, and artists out of work. But we had to adapt. We started experimenting online.” Out of necessity came innovation. “We made Sherlock in Homes as a co-production with Sharp Teeth Theatre, an interactive online detective show that ended up reaching audiences across Europe, Australia – even Brazil. It brought families together who were hundreds of miles apart. That was really special.”
For Aisha, the pandemic forced reflection. “We didn’t know if we’d survive, but we stayed connected and kept adapting. The Cultural Recovery Fund helped, but what really got us through was the community – the artists, the volunteers, the audiences waiting for us to reopen. We also took the opportunity to really expand our inclusion practises”.
Santi & Naz – October 2024 – photo: Paul Blakemore
A decade later, the theatre’s focus has evolved, but its spirit remains unchanged. “It started as an unknown,” says Chris. “Now it’s about celebrating what we built together. Every part of the theatre represents someone’s time, sweat, or kindness.”
For Aisha, it’s deeply personal. “The Wardrobe Theatre has always been an artistic home for me as well as managing the theatre. I used to perform more as an improviser and theatremaker, but now I compose for theatre and support other artists to make the shows they want to. Watching someone you’ve given an outside eye to or written music for share their work – that’s magic”.
Old Market Remixed by Tom Marshman – November 2022 – photo: courtesy of the artist
Matthew adds: “Giving audiences positive, shared experiences – that’s at the heart of what we do. And we couldn’t have done any of it without our partners at The Old Market Assembly. They’ve been with us since day one, and they’re celebrating ten years too”.
Looking ahead, The Wardrobe Theatre team has big dreams: “We want to keep expanding what’s possible,” says Aisha. “To give artists space to play, and for audiences to keep discovering something new.”
Notting Hell by The Wardrobe Theatre – Christmas 2024 – photo: Jack Offord
In many ways, The Wardrobe Theatre mirrors Bristol itself – bold, collaborative, a little rough around the edges, but always brimming with life. It’s where strangers become friends, where risk and joy coexist, and where audiences never quite know what they’re in for – but always leave smiling.
“The Wardrobe Theatre wouldn’t exist without Bristol,” says Chris. “Every bit of it – from the people who painted walls to the ones who bought tickets before there were even seats – this theatre was built by a city that believes in creativity.”
Little Women in Black by The Wardrobe Theatre – Christmas 2021 – photo: Jack Offord
Ten years on, that belief has turned a crumbling cabaret club into one of Bristol’s most beloved cultural institutions. And if the past decade has been about survival, the next one looks set to be about flourishing.
As Aisha puts it: “We’re so lucky! Lucky to work with such clever, silly, caring, dedicated people. Lucky to do what we love, in a creative city that we love. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else”.
The Wardrobe Theatre – New Seats August 2025 – photo: The Wardrobe Theatre
For upcoming events and tickets to all shows, visit www.thewardrobetheatre.com. Read more about the origins of The Wardrobe Theatre project here.
Main photo: Paul Blakemore (MDH: Puppets Do a Movie)
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