Theatre Deli’s Sheffield venue has announced that it will close by the end of May. The arts venue, which hosts many productions from small, amateur and theatre groups, including the University of Sheffield Light Entertainment Society’s (USLES’) upcoming musical Chosen Ones revealed its closure earlier today in a post that has shocked the city’s arts community.
Taking to social media earlier today, the venue posted a picture of their venue, saying: “IMPORTANT: End of our Arley St journey”. The post went on to explain that “as of May 2024 Theatre Deli Sheffield will be closing it’s current home on Arley Street permanently. We had planned to stay for longer and will be sad to say goodbye to the beautiful space we created”. They also took the opportunity to “thank all the artists, companies and community organisations who have worked with us this past year”.
The Theatre Deli, which also has a location based in London, is a small venue located towards the south of the city centre, which specialises in programming small theatre companies and original works. In their past year, the venue has programmed over 70 performances, hired their space to almost 90 different companies and even provided nearly 50 artists with space and developmental time free of charge.
The reaction among the local community has been one of sadness at the news, including from our own student community at The University of Sheffield. Martha Allison, President of the Sheffield University Light Entertainment Society (USLES) and writer of the upcoming musical Chosen Ones which is to play at the venue told Forge Press: “Theatre Deli is the first official external venue that USLES has had the honour of performing in. Hearing about it closing down is absolutely heartbreaking”.
She added: “How the arts are treated in this country is shocking. As someone who wants to write scripts professionally in the future, it’s distressing that there are fewer and fewer homes for stories as time goes on. The arts deserve funding and support!”.
Mudskipper Theatre Company, whose show SPIT was performed at Theatre Deli in October, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn that Theatre Deli Sheffield will be pausing its programming. In a time when support for independent artists is scarce, seeing one of very few small venues in Sheffield close its doors is disheartening. We owe a lot to Theatre Deli – they hosted our first ever performances and have been great supporters of Mudskipper’s work. We hope to see them open their doors again in the near future”.
Whilst Theatre Deli did not reveal the reason for their closure, it comes just months after Sheffield’s Abbeydale Picture House was named on the Theatres at Risk Register, before it was able to secure government funding to help secure the future of the venue. It is also another addition to the increasing incidence of small and local arts venues closing their doors, often due to financial costs.
These issues have been raised repeatedly by small theatre groups, venues themselves, and notably to MPs during Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport in The House of Commons yesterday. Spiralling costs associated with the Cost of Living crisis, as well as audience reluctance due to similar cost implications is causing small venues across the country to struggle to keep their doors open, with Sheffield’s Theatre Deli possibly its latest victim. This comes after the Music Venues Trust found in their annual report that financial stresses resulted in 125 venues across the country abandoning live music, and half of these closing entirely in 2023.
Despite the unknown underlying issues at local and national levels, we know that many in our city’s arts communities will be saddened at the news that Theatre Deli is closing its doors in only a few weeks time, with many artists relying on the space the venue offers to showcase their talents. The venue has said that they are “very much look[ing] forward to ‘popping up again’ soon and supporting the fantastic work of local artists”, but when or if that will occur is currently unconfirmed.
Theatre Deli Sheffield is located on Arley Street, south of the city centre. Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, has been contacted for comment
