Battersea Arts Centre
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| Address | Lavender Hill Wandsworth, London |
|---|---|
| Owner | BAC Trust |
| Designation | Grade II* listed |
| Type | Receiving house |
| Capacity | 500 Grand Hall 140 Lower Hall |
| Production | The Masque of the Red Death |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Architect | EW Mountford |
| Website | |
| www.bac.org.uk | |
The Battersea Arts Centre (often abbreviated to "BAC") is a performance space near Clapham Junction in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth that specialises in music and theatre productions. Sometimes, it is referred to as the National Theatre of the Fringe a venue where new productions are first performed and honed prior to tours or possible transfers to the theatres of the West End.
History
BAC pioneered the "scratch" methodology as part of its "ladder of development" for new work, where performances are shown at various stages of development to an outside audience, whose input and criticism guides the further evolution of the work.
Founded in 1980 in a Grade II* listed building which originally opened in 1893 as Battersea Town Hall and converted to a community arts centre in 1974, the building was designed in 1891, by E. W. Mountford. It currently receives a grant towards the building's operating costs from the London Borough of Wandsworth.
David Jubb is the organisation's artistic director. David is one of subsidised theatre's most respected producers and is a pioneer of 'creative producing' in the industry. Creative producing underlines BAC's artistic philosophy and, as such, has been the basis of creating one of theatre's most ground-breaking artistic programmes.
Potential closure
On 18th January 2007 a press release on the BAC website announced that Wandsworth Borough Council had notified BAC that it would be cutting a £100,000 grant to £0 and charging over £270,000 annually in rent and running costs. These cuts, the centre says, will make the organisation unviable and force it to close. The issue was raised at Prime Minister's Questions on 17th January 2007, Tony Blair said: "Battersea Arts Centre does a fantastic job. They should do everything they can to keep it open. It should be kept open."[1]
The venue takes part in the annual London International Mime Festival.
Current Productions
Currently, Punchdrunk Theatre Company have converted a majority of the BAC building for their promenade performance of The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Alan Poe. The show has recently had its run extended to Spring 2008.
Past Productions
Productions which were developed or started here have included
- Richard Thomas's early work as Kombat Opera including, Tourette's Diva, leading to the development of Jerry Springer - The Opera, which premièred here in 2002, before transferring to the National Theatre.
- Jackson's Way - the winner of the 2004 Perrier Award in Edinburgh. A one man show which both mocks the world motivational speaking and embraces it through encouraging 'pointless actions'.
Companies and artists performing at BAC have included
- Punchdrunk
- Cartoon de Salvo
- Ra-Ra Zoo
- Gecko
- Blind Summit
- Kneehigh Theatre
- Shunt
- Will Adamsdale
- Stewart Lee
- Frantic Assembly
- Told By An Idiot
- Meadlew Rayken
- David Glass Ensemble
- Mark Bowden
- Matt Fraser
- Patter
- Filter theatre
- Liquid Theatre
- Kaos
- Kazuko Hohki
- The Plague (English punk rock band)
References
- ^ BAC Press Release 18 January 2007 accessed 18 Sep 2007
