After eight years, The Bike Shed Theatre and Bar will close its doors on 31 March.
The Bike Shed first opened as a pop-up, transforming two dank cellars into a make-shift cocktail bar and theatre and the response was overwhelmingly positive with The Guardian crediting the venue as ‘keeping theatre alive in Exeter’.
Locals could see some of the most exciting new theatre from across the country and people would queue around the block to get in as the venue’s reputation for dancing and DJs grew. Having decided to stay in its Fore Street home, the theatre continued to gain national recognition. A Peter Brook Empty Space Award was soon followed by an award for the UK Theatre’s Most Welcoming Theatre.
Most recently, the venue swept up two of the inaugural Exeter Living Awards for Best Watering Hole and Best Arts Organisation. Since then, many new bars have sprung up in Exeter echoing the Bike Shed’s offering of cocktails and late night dancing.
The bar, a separate business to the theatre, is no longer able to pay profits over to the theatre.
The company will continue to pursue projects outside of the building, most notably the Boat Shed which will see the transformation of derelict warehouses on Exeter’s quay into a space for music theatre and start-up businesses. ‘
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