Round House

Round House, London, in Chalk Farm Road, Camden Town, disused locomotive shed, dating from the mid-19th century, taken over in 1961 by Arnold Wesker to serve as the home of his Centre 42, which aimed to make the arts more widely available, primarily through trade union involvement. The venture was not a success, but the theatre has housed some interesting productions ‘in-the-round’ including in 1968 an experimental production of The Tempest by Peter Brook. Later in the same year a play about Nelson, The Hero Rises Up, by John Arden and his wife, had a short run, and 1969 saw the production of Kafka's Metamorphosis and In the Penal Colony, a visit from the Living Theatre, and Tony Richardson's production of Hamlet. In 1970 the erotic revue Oh! Calcutta! had a short run before moving on to the West End, and in 1971 the American musical Godspell opened, transferring later to Wyndham's. The Open Theater from New York appeared in 1973. The theatre continued to be used for productions that might not otherwise find a home in London, including Brenton's Epsom Downs, Tennessee Williams's The Red Devil Battery Sign (both 1977), and David Rabe's Streamers (1978). After a complete reconstruction in 1979 the theatre reopened with Ronald Harwood's adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, originally seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester; other productions from the same theatre followed. The theatre also staged Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings (1980) and Suburban Strains (1981). It closed in 1984 but the Round House Arts Centre Trust hopes to reopen it.