Martyn's Law for small theatres and arts venues

Updated 26 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.

Theatres and arts venues already think hard about audience safety, and many have show-stop and evacuation procedures in place. Martyn's Law builds on that. For a small venue, it's mostly about making sure those procedures also cover an attack, not just a fire.

What is Martyn's Law?

Martyn's Law is the common name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. It's named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 as people were leaving a concert. It follows years of campaigning by his mother, Figen Murray. It became law on 3 April 2025, and the Home Office published its final statutory guidance on 15 April 2026.

Is your venue covered?

Premises are covered if they include a building, are mainly used for a listed purpose, and 200 or more people could reasonably be there at once. For arts venues the listed purposes include:

• Entertainment, leisure or recreation for visiting members of the public: plays, concerts, comedy, cinema, dance.
• A venue for hire, an exhibition hall or a conference venue.
• A museum or gallery that the public visits.
• Food and drink, if you run a bar or café.

Counting people

Start from your full house, then add everyone working: cast, musicians, crew, front of house, bar and box office staff, and volunteers. Include the foyer and bar if people gather there before and after shows. Your premises licence or fire risk assessment is a reasonable starting point.

Who is responsible?

Whoever controls the building, usually the theatre's board of trustees or the company that runs it. If you hire in visiting companies, you stay responsible for the building. If you are a company hiring someone else's venue, the venue is responsible, but you should know and follow their procedures.

What the standard tier asks you to do

1. Tell the regulator

Notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) that the venue is covered and who the responsible person is. Its online service is expected to open in early 2027.

2. Have procedures for four situations

• Evacuation: getting the audience out of the auditorium and foyer, away from the danger, and where they go. An attack can need different routes from a fire.
• Invacuation: bringing people into the auditorium or another safer area when the danger is outside, for example as people arrive or leave.
• Lockdown: which doors can be secured, including stage door and get-in doors, who holds keys and how quickly they can be locked.
• Communication: your show-stop procedure, who makes the announcement, and how front-of-house and backstage teams stay in touch.

3. Brief the team on duty

The duty manager, stage manager and front-of-house team should all know the procedures. Include them in your pre-show checks, and brief visiting companies and volunteer ushers at the get-in or before doors open.

Arrivals and departures

The busiest, most crowded moments are often outside the auditorium: queues at the door and audiences leaving at the end. Think about where people gather, how you'd move them inside or away quickly, and who would make the call.

Fines and timing

The SIA expects to start with advice and support. It can issue compliance notices, and for standard tier premises the maximum fines are £10,000, plus up to £500 a day for continuing failures. The duties are expected to start in spring 2027.

Free help and official guidance

• ProtectUK: the official home of the Martyn's Law guidance, with free training for staff.
• ABTT and other theatre and arts bodies, which publish guidance for venues.

This guide summarises the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 and the Home Office statutory guidance as we understand them. It isn't legal advice. If your situation is unusual, check with the SIA or a solicitor.