The Cock Tavern Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Cock Tavern Theatre was a multi-award winning pub theatre located in the heart of Kilburn in the north-west of London. The venue specialised in new works and critical revivals. Resident companies Good Night Out Presents
and OperaUpClose
were also based at the venue.
, who is currently the theatre’s artistic director. Its first production, Shakespeare's The Tempest
, premiered on 4 February 2009 directed by Simon Beyer. The theatre was frequently noted for the intimate and authentic experience provided by the backdrop of the upstairs room at the Cock Tavern. Productions were also staged in the bar itself as well as on the first-floor outside terrace.
The Cock Tavern Theatre won the Peter Brook... Empty Space – Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award in November 2009 , just 10 months after opening, where it was praised by theatre critic Mark Shenton
:
Although The Cock Tavern Theatre originally operated as a receiving house alongside its own productions, it developed into a full-fledged production house. Following a health and safety review of the theatre's access and escape stairs, the theatre closed permanently on 8 April 2011. Productions transferred to other theatres.
, Charlotte Eilenberg, Jack Hibberd
and Nick Ward. All programming at the theatre is provided by its two resident companies.
was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre
. The company has developed a relationship with Nick Ward as the theatre's playwright in residence. His play, The Present, was revived at The Cock Tavern Theatre under the guidance of the playwright in 2009.
, a company aiming to make opera more accessible and to provide young singers with the chance to make their professional debuts, had its debut production, Puccini's La bohème
, at The Cock Tavern Theatre. The production ran from 8 December 2009 to 15 May 2010 and had set Act II in the pub area of The Cock Tavern below the theatre, as an alternative to the Café Momus scene in traditional productions.
Good Night Out Presents
Good Night Out Presents is one of the resident theatre companies at the The Cock Tavern Theatre in London.-History:Good Night Out Presents was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre...
and OperaUpClose
OperaUpClose
OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London (also called "London's little opera house". It started at The Cock Tavern...
were also based at the venue.
History
The Cock Tavern Theatre was founded in January 2009 in the former first floor function room of The Cock Tavern by Adam Spreadbury-MaherAdam Spreadbury-Maher
Adam Spreadbury-Maher is a multi-award winning Australian/Irish theatre artistic director, producer and translator. He is the founding Artistic Director of London's Cock Tavern Theatre from January 2009 until the venues closure in April 2011. He became Artistic Director of the Kings Head Theatre...
, who is currently the theatre’s artistic director. Its first production, Shakespeare's The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
, premiered on 4 February 2009 directed by Simon Beyer. The theatre was frequently noted for the intimate and authentic experience provided by the backdrop of the upstairs room at the Cock Tavern. Productions were also staged in the bar itself as well as on the first-floor outside terrace.
The Cock Tavern Theatre won the Peter Brook... Empty Space – Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award in November 2009 , just 10 months after opening, where it was praised by theatre critic Mark Shenton
Mark Shenton
Mark Shenton is a London-based British arts journalist and theatre critic. Since April 2002 he has been chief Theatre Critic for the Sunday Express...
:
"The Cock Tavern, with its tiny auditorium of around 40 seats squeezed into three rows, is a quintessentially cramped upstairs pub theatre. But it is also, thanks to the boldness of its producing team, a newly-essential one, both for restoring some past fringe glories and also moving it boldly forward with new work."
Although The Cock Tavern Theatre originally operated as a receiving house alongside its own productions, it developed into a full-fledged production house. Following a health and safety review of the theatre's access and escape stairs, the theatre closed permanently on 8 April 2011. Productions transferred to other theatres.
Artistic policy and resident companies
The Cock Tavern Theatre had a commitment to hosting world premieres and revivals from playwrights whose work is considered by the artistic director to be relatively unrepresented within British Theatre. From 2008, the theatre developed a reputation for imaginative programming and quality productions, and will be presenting premieres by playwrights Edward BondEdward Bond
Edward Bond is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them Saved , the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK...
, Charlotte Eilenberg, Jack Hibberd
Jack Hibberd
Dr Jack Hibberd is an Australian playwright.-Biography:Hibberd studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Newman College and practised as a clinical immunologist in Melbourne from 1964 until 1973...
and Nick Ward. All programming at the theatre is provided by its two resident companies.
Good Night Out Presents
Good Night Out PresentsGood Night Out Presents
Good Night Out Presents is one of the resident theatre companies at the The Cock Tavern Theatre in London.-History:Good Night Out Presents was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre...
was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre
The White Bear Theatre
The White Bear Theatre Club is a fringe theatre venue, established in 1988 in the White Bear pub in Kennington, London Borough of Lambeth. It is run by Artistic Director Michael Kingsbury...
. The company has developed a relationship with Nick Ward as the theatre's playwright in residence. His play, The Present, was revived at The Cock Tavern Theatre under the guidance of the playwright in 2009.
OperaUpClose
OperaUpCloseOperaUpClose
OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London OperaUpClose is a resident opera company at the Kings Head Theatre London (also called "London's little opera house". It started at The Cock Tavern...
, a company aiming to make opera more accessible and to provide young singers with the chance to make their professional debuts, had its debut production, Puccini's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, at The Cock Tavern Theatre. The production ran from 8 December 2009 to 15 May 2010 and had set Act II in the pub area of The Cock Tavern below the theatre, as an alternative to the Café Momus scene in traditional productions.
Theatre staff
- Adam Spreadbury-MaherAdam Spreadbury-MaherAdam Spreadbury-Maher is a multi-award winning Australian/Irish theatre artistic director, producer and translator. He is the founding Artistic Director of London's Cock Tavern Theatre from January 2009 until the venues closure in April 2011. He became Artistic Director of the Kings Head Theatre...
– Artistic Director. Spreadbury-Maher is a trained opera singer. An Australian by birth, he came to London in 2005 and made his directing debut at The White Bear TheatreThe White Bear TheatreThe White Bear Theatre Club is a fringe theatre venue, established in 1988 in the White Bear pub in Kennington, London Borough of Lambeth. It is run by Artistic Director Michael Kingsbury...
producing three shows as the theatre's Associate Director. In 2008 he founded Good Night Out PresentsGood Night Out PresentsGood Night Out Presents is one of the resident theatre companies at the The Cock Tavern Theatre in London.-History:Good Night Out Presents was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre...
and in January 2009 secured the premises that make up The Cock Tavern Theatre. In January 2010 he was awarded the Fringe Report award for 'Best Artistic Director', and in March 2010 he was appointed Artistic Director of The King's Head TheatreThe King's Head TheatreThe King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...
in addition to his role at The Cock Tavern Theatre.
- Ben Cooper – Group Commercial Director. Cooper received his degree in HumanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
from Bristol University in 2008, and has had experience in both UK and international touring companies.
Season 2010
- A Stretch Of The Imagination by Jack HibberdJack HibberdDr Jack Hibberd is an Australian playwright.-Biography:Hibberd studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Newman College and practised as a clinical immunologist in Melbourne from 1964 until 1973...
, directed by and starring Mark LittleMark Little (Australian actor)Mark Little , is an Australian actor, television presenter and comedian, born in Brisbane, Queensland.-Career:Little appeared in a string of Australian films and TV series during the 1980s. He also performed his own comedy/performance in Melbourne's burgeoning comedy clubs throughout the eighties...
, 16 June-17 July 2010, - Shrunk by Charlotte Eilenberg, directed by Julian Birkett, May 18–12 June 2010
- La Bohème by Giacomo PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, translated and directed by Robin Norton-Hale, 10 December 2009 – 15 May 2010 - A Model For Mankind by James Sheldon, directed by Blanche McIntyre, 27 March - 17 April 2010
- Much by Hannah Patterson, directed by Hannah Eidinow, 23 February - 20 March 2010
- Nightsongs by Jon Fosse, directed by Hamish MacDougall, 30 January - 20 February 2010
Season 2009
- Secrets, a devised piece directed by Danielle Coleman, 17 November – 5 December 2009
- Three Minute Hero by Phil Setren, 28 October – 14 November 2009
- Together We're Heavy by Chris Purnell, 29 September – 24 October 2009
- Brooklyn by Rose Martula, directed by Russ Hope, 8–25 September 2009
- The Present by Nick Ward, directed by Adam Spreadbury-MaherAdam Spreadbury-MaherAdam Spreadbury-Maher is a multi-award winning Australian/Irish theatre artistic director, producer and translator. He is the founding Artistic Director of London's Cock Tavern Theatre from January 2009 until the venues closure in April 2011. He became Artistic Director of the Kings Head Theatre...
, 20 August – 5 September 2009 - Make Mine A Double: Latin! Or Tobacco And Boys by Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
and Last Drink by Duncan Ley, directed by Nathan Godkin - Invisible Storms, a devised piece directed by Jamie Harper, 5–30 May 2009
- The Backroom by Adrian Pagan, starring David PaisleyDavid PaisleyDavid Paisley is a Scottish actor, especially well known for roles as midwife Ben Saunders in Holby City, Ryan Taylor in Tinsel Town and most recently Rory Murdoch in River City.-Career:...
12 March – 11 April 2009. - The Tempest by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, directed by Simon Beyer, 4 February – 7 March 2009