TOLA was broken into and robbed on the morning of Thursday 27th August. More than £30,000 worth of equipment and stock was stolen and our venue was badly damaged. We’re now asking for your help to keep an independent Peckham venue alive.

We arrived at TOLA on Friday 28th August to discover that the venue had been broken into. The people responsible had pretty much cleaned us out.

Our DJ equipment was gone. Parts of our sound system were gone. Thousands of pounds’ worth of bar stock had been taken. Our till systems had been stolen. And on top of everything they took, they caused extensive damage to the venue.

In a single night, TOLA lost more than £30,000 worth of equipment and stock.

Like so many independent venues, TOLA was hit incredibly hard by Covid. But reopening our doors wasn’t the end of the struggle. We came back into a completely different world. The cost-of-living crisis has understandably left people with less money to spend on nights out, while almost every cost involved in running a venue has gone the other way. Energy, stock, staffing, security, suppliers and the everyday costs of keeping the doors open have all risen.

For a small independent venue, the margins were already tight. Over the last 5 years, they've become tighter still.

We've moved heaven and earth to keep TOLA going through all of it.

Rather than give up, we've adapted the business and continually reinvested in the venue. We've refurbished and improved our spaces, upgraded our sound and DJ setup, developed new areas and evolved what we offer to create a venue that works for club nights, independent promoters, private events and the wider community.

It hasn't always been easy, but we've kept finding a way. We're incredibly proud that through everything that's happened, TOLA is still here and most importantly, still independent.

We've managed to overcome everything that's been thrown at us over the last few years, but this break-in could be the thing that finally pushes TOLA beyond what a small independent venue can withstand.

We don't want that to happen, so we're asking our community for help.

We’re raising money to get TOLA back on its feet, replace what was stolen and give the venue the breathing room it needs to keep going.

Your donations will help us:

TOLA has been part of Peckham's nightlife for years. It's a small venue run by locals and built around music and the people who make it happen; the DJs, artists, promoters, staff and the community that comes through our doors every week.

We've fought hard to protect that through some of the most difficult years independent nightlife has experienced, we've made it this far. We don't want a break-in to be the thing that ends it.

Massive thank you to everyone who has supported TOLA over the years. It means more to us than you know.

The dance must go on.

TOLA x