LONDON THEATRE COMPANY announce plans for second theatre in the heart of King's Cross
by Best of Theatre Staff on Thursday 9 May 2019, 11:02 am in Theatre News
London Theatre Company and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) announce their joint venture for a brand new 600 theatre in King’s Cross.
King’s Cross will be the location of London Theatre Company’s second theatre, a new 600-seat flexible auditorium, based on the acclaimed Bridge Theatre which opened in October 2017.
Like the Bridge, the new theatre is designed by Stirling Prize-winning Haworth Tompkins Architects in collaboration with TAIT, world leaders in designing, constructing and delivering the finest live event venues. The building containing the new theatre, P2, is designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) and when complete will offer nine floors of flexible office space, set to house Facebook, with a fifth-floor wraparound terrace, and retail space at ground level to the south.
The 600 seat theatre at King’s Cross will include a flexible auditorium, capable of a streamlined transformation between formats to support a varied programme of new commissions and classics. The theatre will include an active foyer, which will include a café/bar, open during the day to visitors, as well as during shows. The building is currently under construction and the new King’s Cross theatre is planned to open for winter 2021.
The new theatre, which will be situated on Lewis Cubitt Square, adjacent to London’s new shopping and dining district Coal Drops Yard, represents a significant cultural addition to the King’s Cross development, already home to Central Saint Martins, its Platform Theatre and two Everyman Cinemas, as well as nearly 30 restaurants and cafes, twenty-six acres of public realm and an annual events programme.
Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, London Theatre Company, said: “We’ve been delighted with the welcome the Bridge has received, and with the intimacy, comfort and adaptability of Haworth Tompkins’/Tait auditorium. We’re looking forward to joining the vibrant King’s Cross neighbourhood in a few years’ time.”
James Edgerley, Project Director at KCCLP, commented: “We’ve been busy working with the London Theatre Company on this joint proposal as the building’s design has evolved and we are excited to bring forward a high quality theatre at the heart of King’s Cross. This will help further our vision of N1C as London’s creative quarter, where there will be plenty more new openings in the years to come. We can’t wait for the first performance!”
London Theatre Company’s latest production at The Bridge Theatre is A German Life, which marks Maggie Smith’s acclaimed return to the stage. Following that is Nicholas Hytner’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to be staged in the Bridge’s ‘immersive’ promenade format with Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David Moorst and Hammed Animashaun who lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom. LTC’s production of My Name is Lucy Barton with Laura Linney will open on Broadway in January 2020.
This permanent addition to King’s Cross follows the pop-up King’s Cross Theatre which delighted audiences between 2014 and 2016 with performances of an Olivier Award-winning production of The Railway Children, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, David Bowie’s Lazarus and the Donmar’s Shakespeare Trilogy.