FAQs

The Bush Theatre and our Library Bar is open from 5pm Monday to Saturday, or 1pm on matinee days. 

We encourage audiences to arrive no later than 20 minutes before the performance is due to start.

Yes, our vibrant Library Bar will be open before and after the show for drinks and snacks. The bar can get very busy just before a show, so we recommend arriving 20 minutes early.

We have a wide range of drinks, including beers from creative London brewery Two Tribes, low- and no-alcohol options and mixed-to-order cocktails.

If you’re looking for a more substantial pre-show meal, the team pulled together some local recommendations here.

You might not be able to get in if you’re late, but we do our best whenever we can. Please arrive in plenty of time to ensure you can get in.

Due to the intimate nature of our performance spaces, it is not always possible to admit latecomers, or to get you to your booked seat.

We want all of our audience members to have the best experience. Both of our performance spaces are very intimate, so anyone entering after the show starts can cause considerable disruption both to other audience members and to the actors. Often audiences have to actually cross the stage to get to their seats, and the actors sometimes use the audience entrance to enter and exit.

There may be limited readmission once the show has started. If you do need to leave at any time, you can – just do so using the door you came in through.

If we can let you back in, you might have to wait for a suitable moment in the show and you may not be able to return to your booked seat.

At Relaxed and Chilled performances, you can leave and re-enter the performance space at any time.

There is absolutely no dress code at the Bush Theatre. You can come in whatever you feel comfortable wearing – tracksuits to glam.

We are happy to exchange tickets for performances of the same production, subject to availability. We have to charge a £2 transaction fee for this, and you need to call or email us by 10am on the day of the performance.

If the show is sold out, we can attempt to resell your tickets for you. If we do manage to resell your tickets, we will give you a refund to your original payment method minus a £2 admin fee. (We can’t guarantee to be able to resell your tickets, and will only be able to resell them if we have sold all of our tickets.)

We’re easily accessible by public transport. Our home in West London is opposite Shepherd’s Bush Market tube station and a ten minute walk from Shepherd’s Bush station.

You can use any major credit or debit card, or contactless devices.

Please note, our Library Bar and Box Office are currently card-only.

Our building is a Victorian library which was refurbished in 2016 to become a modern, accessible and sustainable theatre.

There are two intimate and unique performance spaces where you’re never more than a few meters from the stage. There’s also the Library Bar and our terrace on the ground floor. Toilets, our Attic rehearsal room, prayer space and offices occupy the two floors upstairs.

There is step-free access available to all areas of our building.

In the Holloway Theatre (the Bush Theatre’s main house), seats are 53cm wide, with a gap of between 7cm and 14cm between each seat. Seats do not have arm rests.

In the Studio, seats are 45cm wide, with a gap of 7cm between each seat. Seats do not have arms rests.

Yes, we have a multi-faith prayer space on our second floor which visitors, staff and participants are welcome to make use of. The second floor is accessible by stairs or the lift.

Ask at Box Office for access to the prayer space.

We have worked hard to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our visitors and staff when in the Bush Theatre building.

Our performance spaces use an air handling system, fed by filtered fresh air. Used air is extracted to the outside and is not recirculated. Filters are changed as part of regular, routine maintenance.

We encourage all our visitors and staff to be mindful of others who may not yet feel comfortable with the relaxing of restrictions.

• Wash or sanitise your hands regularly, especially when entering and exiting the building.
• You can choose to wear a face covering if you would like.

While there are no COVID-19 restrictions in the UK, if you believe have COVID-19 government advice is to try to stay at home. The best way to stay safe is to get vaccinated. Latest government advice available here.