The Free Association in Southwark, London, rents out a 100-seat theatre, a workshop room for up to 20 people and, on request, the whole building. The spaces suit meetings, presentations, pitches, workshops and rehearsals. The venue is a comedy theatre and improv school in the Old Union Yard Arches, and it also runs corporate training workshops.
Seminars and company events
The ground-floor theatre is hired for meetings, events and rehearsals. It was built for live comedy and has a thrust stage, which the venue describes as a good fit for presentations, pitches and performances. It has 100 seats and is fully accessible, with a staffed reception and a foyer where guests are welcomed.
Daytime hire runs Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with limited weekend daytime availability. The theatre is not available on Thursday to Sunday evenings, when it hosts its own shows. Staffing is available on request.
The upstairs workshop room has floor-to-ceiling windows and double-glazed glass doors for privacy. It takes up to 20 chairs, and tables can be added as needed. It works for workshops, writers' rooms, small meetings and rehearsals, and it can serve as a breakout space when the theatre is booked.
The school also delivers corporate improv workshops that teams can book at the same address: Communicating with Curiosity, Collaboration and Teamwork, and Creativity and Innovation, plus sessions for leaders, graduates and sales teams. The team runs training and events itself and offers help with events that go beyond a simple room hire.
Rooms and capacities
There are two rooms. The theatre seats 100. The workshop room holds up to 20 on chairs. For exclusive hire, the venue offers the theatre and foyer downstairs together with a fully stocked bar and the private workshop space upstairs, which works well as a breakout area. Pricing for exclusive hire is given on request.
Catering
The site does not describe a catering offer. It mentions a fully stocked bar upstairs as part of whole-building hire. Organisers who need food should raise it when they enquire.
History and setting
The Free Association has staged improv and alternative comedy in London for more than ten years. This Southwark theatre opened in October 2025 and is the group's flagship, housing its main theatre and a classroom. It sits in Arch 26 of the Old Union Yard Arches on Union Street.
Getting there
The address is Arch 26, Old Union Yard Arches, 229 Union Street, London SE1 0LR. Southwark station on the Jubilee line is a short walk away, about 3 to 5 minutes. Waterloo, London Bridge and Borough are within about 10 minutes on foot, and the Southbank is nearby. Buses 40, 63, N63 and N89 stop on Blackfriars Road. The venue does not host weddings.
