Underbelly will close its Boulevard Soho venue on 10 January 2027, ending the lease early on a 200-seat theatre it has operated in the heart of Soho since October 2023.

The company, best known for running the Underbelly venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, took on the building from property owner Soho Estates after the space had sat dark since 2020. Formerly the Boulevard Theatre, the venue at 6 Walker's Court reopened under Underbelly's management with Bernie Dieter's Club Kabarett as its inaugural show. During the tenure, the venue hosted over 1,700 performances, according to WhatsOnStage.

Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, Underbelly's directors, attributed the closure to two factors: the costs associated with the venue relative to its size, and wider economic challenges facing the sector. In a statement, they said closing Boulevard Soho would allow the company to focus on other theatrical and venue projects.

The economics of a small Soho theatre are unforgiving. A 200-seat capacity — modest by West End standards, where houses routinely hold 800 or more — means weekly running costs are spread across fewer ticket sales. Underbelly did not publish specific figures for Boulevard Soho's running costs or revenue.

Boulevard Soho was conceived as more than a theatre. The venue incorporated two restaurants: Cafe Kitty, operated by the Kitty Fisher's group, and Artusi, an Italian restaurant. Both were part of Underbelly's pitch to create a combined dining-and-performance destination in a neighbourhood dense with nightlife but short on mid-sized theatre spaces. The future of the restaurants under any new leaseholder has not been confirmed.

The building's ownership remains with Soho Estates, the property company that controls much of the surrounding Soho estate. Soho Estates selected Underbelly to take on the lease after the Boulevard Theatre's previous incarnation closed in 2020 during the pandemic. What happens to the space after January 2027 — whether it remains a theatre or returns to another use — is a decision for Soho Estates.

Underbelly's departure comes at a difficult moment for the wider theatre sector. Rising energy costs, above-inflation increases in staffing costs, and cautious audience spending have squeezed venues of every size. Subsidised houses have faced standstill funding from Arts Council England, while commercial producers contend with higher capitalisation costs — the money raised to get a show open. A small venue with high fixed costs and limited seat capacity is particularly exposed to that pressure.

For Soho, the closure removes one of the neighbourhood's few dedicated theatre spaces. The venue sat within walking distance of the West End's commercial houses but operated on a different model: cabaret, comedy and smaller-scale work rather than long-running plays or musicals. Over 1,700 performances in just over three years points to a venue that was programming actively and consistently.

Bartlam and Wood framed the decision as a pivot rather than a retreat. Underbelly continues to operate its Edinburgh Festival Fringe venues, its festival sites in London and other UK cities, and its programming at the Southbank Centre's summer festival. The company has not indicated whether it plans to take on another permanent London theatre venue.