Brixton House will open its doors to the public on the 24th February 2022 with two international shows and a taster programme of activities until 5th March when the venue will open all areas including its café, bar and hire studios. The brand-new Arts Venue, designed by architects Foster Wilson Size, is located in the heart of Brixton’s local community on Coldharbour Lane, as a place for artists and audiences to connect, create and enjoy in their new South London home. For more information head to: www.brixtonhouse.co.uk.
Brixton House’s first season under the new Artistic Directorship of Gbolahan Obisesan will include Mugabe, My Dad and Me, an English Touring Theatre, Brixton House & York Theatre Royal co-production in association with Alison Holder, written and performed by Tonderai Munyevu, before it goes on a national tour in 2022. Also part of the Brixton House’s opening programme is the UK premiere of works by Ntando Cele, Trân Tran, & Alan Alpenfelt, as part of Pro Helvetia’s Swiss Selection Live. Hussina Raja’s Station is an interactive live-performance installation set in a traditional South-Asian living room, combining film, music and performances that celebrate diasporic histories, heritage and culture, with additional writing by acclaimed poet/writer Zia Ahmed, and a soundscape by renowned musician Sarathy Korwar.
The Body Remembers created and performed by Heather Agyepong and produced by Fuel, is an exploration of how trauma lives in the body, particularly for Black British women across different generations. Housemates, is a festival of new works from new artists taking over the building for two weeks. A Brixton House production, presented with HighTide in association with the Mercury Theatre Colchester, Kabul Goes Pop; Music television Afghanistan is a debut by actor/writer, Waleed Akhtar and is inspired by a true story of Afghanistan’s first youth music TV programme and explores the devastating effects as two young presenters take on the political landscape while trying to build a new Afghanistan, rounding up the spring programme is International French works from Compagnie Babel’s, created by Elise Chatauret and Thomas Pondevie and written using interviews, Fathers, opens the doors of French households from diverse immigrant backgrounds and asks the roles and influence that fathers have today?
Brixton House boasts an eclectic programme of events (see below) comprising of theatre, cabaret, comedy, dance, and film. Throughout the artistic & participation programme, Brixton House will promote their five core values: celebratory, collaborative, nurturing, radical and welcoming. Brixton House has also curated a season of work for families and young people as part of this first season of work including Butterflies presented by Tangled Feet and Half Moon, Aidy the Awesome by Gramophones Theatre company, Sound Symphony by with Oily Cart and Independent Arts Projects, Kid X by MHZ in association with Feral Presents, Rush: a Joyous Jamaican journey by The Rush Theatre Company and Black Voices: Celebrating Aretha Franklin. The programme has something for everyone!
Formerly known as Ovalhouse in Kennington, Brixton House is a state-of-the-art venue committed to social cohesion, creative excellence and providing a nurturing and enjoyable environment for audiences and performers alike. Continuing their long legacy of ground-breaking theatre and a home for artists, Brixton House, will be a place for people to come together and experience different art forms, events and participation projects. The venue houses two studio theatres with reconfigurable performance spaces, several rehearsal rooms and multi-use meeting rooms, as well as its very own care and bar for the public to enjoy. Brixton House will define theatre-making for a new generation, inspiring new experiences that develop community solidarity and passion for social change.
Brixton House, Artistic Director Gbolahan Obisesan says: “Brixton House will be a vital cultural beacon in Brixton and a home of creativity and expression for everyone. We want to attract, support, and inspire new artistic experiences that will develop our community solidarity and passion for social change in society. With this opening season, we focus on our Family Ties, because ours is a home where we acknowledge we are all connected and bound by our love of art and artists, propelled by our spirit of togetherness, whilst giving space to showcasing our creative bond and appreciation of human experiences.”
