London’s West End gets first purpose-built theatre in 50 years

Part of a 300m regeneration of the area near Tottenham Court Road station, @sohoplace combines intimacy with innovative design

A major new West End theatre is to open this autumn, designed to give audiences an alternative to the restricted legroom, poor sightlines and iffy acoustics - not to mention stuffy heat - of some of London's older playhouses.

On a tour of the venue, which has been named @sohoplace, its owner Nica Burns explained that the building's proximity to the redeveloped Tottenham Court Road station brought another set of challenges, namely noise and vibrations. The new Elizabeth line, as well as the Northern and Central lines, pass directly beneath the site and Crossrail's enormous ventilation system lies adjacent to the auditorium.