The Free Association moves to a custom-built home

Improv group The Free Association are opening a permanent London venue next month.

The troupe have signed a ten-year lease on a space beneath railway arches in Southwark, which they have fitted out into a 104-seat theatre following a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than £20,000.

Company founder Graham Dickson said: ‘This move has been such a long time in the making for us, so we're unbelievably thrilled to finally open our own theatre with our name on it. We hope to make it a home to be proud of - not just for improv, but for the whole comedy community.’

Names such as Ambika Mod, Phil Wang, Olga Koch, Stevie Martin and Liz Kingsman trained at the Free Association, and Bryce Dallas Howard attended a workshop there while preparing to play an improv teacher in the recent Amazon comedy film Deep Cover.

Kingsman said: ‘It has been a privilege to be a part of The Free Association since they opened their doors over ten years ago. It is incredibly exciting to finally have a destination for the ever-growing improv community, and to safeguard the general public from the dangers of having improvisers on the streets.’

The Free Association performed its very first improv comedy night above the De Beauvoir Arms pub in Islington on October 19, 2014, with a line-up that included Ivan Gonzalez and Max Olesker (of Max & Ivan fame), Joseph Morpurgo of Austentatious, Freya Parker of Lazy Susan, and Jess Ransom of Horrible Histories, as well as Dickson. It later expanded into the Lord Stanley in Camden as well as its original home.

Jonny Collis-Scurll, who co-owns The Free Association said: ‘Our community of performers and students have long deserved a venue of this calibre, and I can't wait to showcase them in our new home!"

And fellow co-owner Ryan Dench  added: ‘This new home is about building on that spark of belonging and shared laughter. I’m so incredibly proud of everyone who’s been part of this adventure so far, and excited for what comes next."

 The new space – at Old Union Yard Arches – opens on October 16 with tickets for the inaugural season going on sale via the Free Association website on Friday.

Published: 11 Sep 2025