The plan to build a temporary theatre at Marble Arch in London as the new home for hit West End musical The Choir of Man has been approved.
The new theatre at Marble Arch is a temporary replacement venue for the Arts Theatre in the West End, which is The Choir of Man’s current home, and is scheduled for a major refurbishment from January 2026.
The temporary theatre will sit on the lawn directly next to the Marble Arch at the end of Oxford Street, where the infamous Marble Arch Mound was located, and remain in place for two years to March 2028.
Building work is expected to start in a matter of weeks, for a spring 2026 opening. The new theatre would be built by HH (Hartshorn-Hook) Productions (Amelie The Musical), with architects Reed Watts Architects.
We first reported the news back in July, when a public consultation was taking place. Westminster City Council’s planning committee met on Tuesday 9 December to discuss the plan, and unanimously approved it.
The Choir of Man is now in its last weeks at the Arts Theatre, finishing on 4 January 2026.
The show currently stars Starring Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hardman, George Knapper as Handyman, Aled Pennock as Bore, Jason Brock as Romantic, Cal T King as Beast, Ifan Gwilym-Jones as Maestro, Oliver Jacobson as Barman, Benji Lord as Joker, Paul McArthur as Poet, and Tom Carter-Miles, Alex Mallalieu, Dave Shute, and Sam Ebenezer as Swings.
The new theatre will seat 500 people, and will be 10 metres high, consisting of an aluminium frame clad in lightweight material made from recycled green fabric strips. The venue will also feature a spacious foyer and bar.
There is precedent for a temporary theatre at Marble Arch, with Underbelly Productions building a Spiegeltent theatre in 2017 for their revival of Five Guys Named Mo – at Marble Arch Theatre.
Westminster City Council said in a statement ahead of the committee meeting that: “The scale and prominence of the proposed temporary theatre mean that it will cause some harm to the setting of the Marble Arch for a more usually acceptable period, and the Arch and its landscape gain no public benefit from the proposal. However, there are wider public benefits in terms of supporting the West End economy and providing a temporary home for the theatre while its own premises are undergoing building work.”
Alongside the Council, the venue also has the backing of residential amenity societies and local businesses. However, Historic England have said that “the temporary building would generally be at odds with the formal, ceremonial character of the arch’s designed setting”.
The Choir of Man is currently booking at the Arts Theatre until 4 January 2026.
Book The Choir of Man tickets at the Arts Theatre London
UPDATES: First published 5 December 2025; Updated 10 December 2025
The Arts at Marble Arch, London
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