53two is an independent theatre and arts charity in the railway arches on Watson Street in Manchester city centre, built around accessibility and new writing. Its creative director has told the Manchester Evening News that its business model is under severe strain.

53two's website describes it as a theatre and event space in the railway arches, at Arch 19, Watson Street, M3 4LP, and gives its registered charity number as 1179418. It lists a seated capacity of 120 for theatre and cinema, and 150 for standing events. In its own description of itself, quoted by Theatre Muse UK, it calls itself Manchester's only fully accessible independent theatre venue.

As first reported by the MEN on 19 October, the theatre moved into arches 18 and 19 after a pop-up three-year stay at the former Bauer Millet car showroom, which began around 2016. The move to Watson Street had been planned for around 2019 but was delayed by the pandemic, and work began in 2021 with Manchester Central and Manchester City Council. The MEN says funding of around £120,000 paid for the fit-out, and describes the arches as Grade II listed.

The MEN reports that the arches had been used for storage, including beer, tobacco, oils and hay, and that the venue's bar floor includes 126 individually sponsored plates designed by the artist Liam Hopkins.

Accessibility features the MEN lists include step-free access, a Changing Places toilet, British Sign Language interpretation, affordable and pay-what-you-can tickets, a lowered bar and space for up to eight wheelchair users. The theatre specialises in new writing.

The creative director, Simon Naylor, told the MEN that the theatre had “deliberately and purposefully created a business model that is almost unsupportable”, with affordable tickets and drinks, and said higher national insurance, wages and drinks prices had made it harder. The MEN reports that 53two receives no regular Arts Council England funding and no core funding from Manchester City Council, and that the theatre has just celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Sources: Manchester Evening News, 19 October 2026; 53two, official website; Theatre Muse UK, February 2026 (53two's description of itself). This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.