Culture vultures I need your help RE London

[lastqueenofscotland]

I want to get my sister some theatre tickets for Christmas.
It needs to be highbrow, west end/national theatre will be too mainstream.

No musical theatre.

I used to go to a little 50 seater in elephant and castle a lot when I lived in London but that was a few years ago now.
Don’t know where to start! South of the river or at last not miles into north London preferably.
The more arty/left-field/experimental the better

Soho theatre maybe? Your OP is a little strange though....I always pick what I want to see by the production rather than by the venue

See what’s on at the Young Vic (Waterloo), sounds like it will fit the bill.

Or ‘The Jungle’ at the National, if you can get tickets. Perfect.

Have a look at Battersea Arts Centre which is near Clapham Junction.

See what's on at the Royal Court theatre?

Will the Pinter season have finished? (Havent been - too highbrow for me!)

But then I love opera - do try ENO or ROH.

Think the brief is hers not mine! But the sort of very experimental stuff she is into isn’t going to be on alongside billy Elliot the musical and lion king

Thing is arty/left-field/experimental theatre isn't the sort of thing one is given for Christmas. You have to discover it, for yourself. The minute the experimentation is mediated through a gift-giver it loses all potency.

Besides, all the cool theatre is in Europe.

Train tickets to Ghent, maybe?

The Arcola theatre in Dalston would be perfect. You can get her an Arcola Passport for £60, to see five shows over the course of a year. They have some brilliant productions.

The Almeida? Hampstead theatre? The Tricycle (now known as The Kiln)?

The Old Vic

Menier Chocolate Factory?

This might give you some ideas www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/fringe-off-west-end, although I know nothing about fringe/off-west end.

Menier tends to be a bit crowd pleasing. There’s a lot of space between full on experimental and Billy Elliot. Jesus Hopped the A Train or The Convert at the Young Vic would be safe choices for your brief I’d say but not full on radical.

The Inheritance plays are meant to be phenomenal but it’s in two parts and also West End, might be too popular!

See what’s on at the National? You could get a membership maybe too. Or check out all the smaller theatres like Southwark Playhouse, Almedia, Arcola, Arts, Young Vic etc.

The Park Theatre at Finsbury Park fits your brief apart from the North London bit! But it's well served by the Victoria Line and Overground and rail services.

Fab fringe theatre with 2 theatres - one seating 200 and the other 90. Both feel very intimate and close to the action.

www.parktheatre.co.uk

The Donmar? Tiny so every seat is great. Just saw measure for measure there with Hayley Atwell, it was fab.