Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company

Analysis

Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in December 1994, 32 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 02994954). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company reported income of £1.8m and spending of £1.9m, spending 103% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income fell from £3.2m to £1.8m (-44%), an average of -13% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income dropped by 70%. Over the whole period it spent 78% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Greenwich + Docklands Festivals (£1.8m), The Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts Ltd (£1.8m) and MK Gallery (£1.8m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 66%, trading 24%, donations and legacies 3.5% and investments 2.5%. Charitable activities took 72% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Reserves of £649k would cover about 4 months of spending at that rate. It employed 27 people.

Data notes from the register: Spending has exceeded income in each of the last three reported years, so the charity has been drawing on reserves or other funds.