Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone

The Cockpit is a fringe theatre in Marylebone, London.

Designed by Edward Mendelsohn and built in 1969–70 by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as the Gateforth Youth Arts Centre, it is London's first purpose-built Theatre in the round since the Great Fire of London. When ILEA was disbanded in 1990, ownership of the Cockpit was transferred to the London Borough of Westminster, who made it part of the newly renamed City of Westminster College. The Cockpit is the only purpose-built, free standing, commercially operating theatre training venue in the capital.

Between 1993 and 1995 the Soho Theatre Company rented the theatre from City Of Westminster College and relaunched itself after a period of homelessness. During this period they premiered the works of over 35 new writers.

Apart from the Soho residency, from the time of its handover from the Greater London Council to the City of Westminster College until 2011 it was used as a training venue for the City of Westminster College's performing arts, theatre lighting, sound engineering and media students, along with regularly visiting students from Ball State University and young people from The Prince's Trust. The Cockpit hosted regular training opportunities in technical theatre skills such as rigging and pyrotechnics, and was (and continues to be) popular with drama schools and youth groups. For many years it hosted the National Youth Jazz Orchestra's weekend rehearsals every Saturday and DreamArts every term-time Sunday.

In January 2011, owners City of Westminster College moved into their new main building at Paddington Green which included another theatre. This change meant The Cockpit was no longer used for day-to-day teaching and instead commenced extensive full-time programme development as one of the larger fringe theatre venues in London, retaining its commitment to young and emerging artists.

Today The Cockpit presents over 90 theatre titles a year as a mix of visiting shows, co-productions, collaborations as well as home grown productions. Contemporary jazz (under its Jazz In The Round brand), opera and musical pilots feature alongside work by emerging and established theatre practitioners. The Cockpit produces Voila, a yearly festival of pan-lingual theatre in venues across London and runs its own programme of courses, classes and supported entrepreneurial opportunities for emerging companies under its Theatre Maker brand. Since 2012 it has styled itself a Theatre Of Ideas and Disruptive Panache with a strong emphasis on early career development.

The Cockpit also hosts events and shows relevant to its local communities in the Westminster ward of Church Street and plays an active part in plans to re-new and improve the area.

The cockpit remains a campus of United Colleges Group and continues to develop as a London fringe theatre and key innovator in the field of live events & media training within a professional venue context.