If there’s a catalogue of all the theatres that exist in London, I don’t know of it. But there are more than you’d expect, in sometimes hidden places. And one I’ve only just discovered is the McIntosh Theatre, Fulham, which you wouldn’t know about unless you’d visited the London Oratory School – because the McIntosh (named for a previous headmaster) sits within the school grounds and is mostly used for school productions.
But in truth, it’s far too good for schoolboys. Built some 20 years ago, it is well-appointed, comfortable, with 305 seats that make it perfect for small-scale productions. And should you wonder why the capacity is fixed at such an odd number, the story is that those few extra seats were put in for Tony Blair’s security guards when his children were at the school and he dutifully came to watch their end-of-term shows.
