Review: Collective Theatre Opening Night Party ★★★★★
Collective Theatre is North London’s newest theatre venue, providing a home for exciting and accessible performance work, and a creative hub for artists to learn in and create together through its acting school program.
Collective Theatre Opening Night Party | October 11 | Collective Theatre, Collective Acting Studio & Stockroom Theatre
The doors of the Collective Theatre opened on a rainy Wednesday night. Its vintage Hornsey Road Bath and Laundry neon sign guiding visitors in like a lighthouse, the space welcomed a crowd of up-and-coming and established artists into a joyful, electric party celebrating this new venue, with a live DJ, drinks, and tours of the building’s production facilities. Friendly groups of the theatre’s acting students guided us through these production spaces, sharing stories from their program, while the lobby stayed full of visitors chatting, drinking and dancing all night.
Located in Finsbury Park, Collective Theatre is founded by Stockroom Productions, a North London-based theatre company and writers’ room focused on work from artists facing socio-economic barriers to the industry; in collaboration with Collective Acting Studio, which aims to become the leading provider of actor-training courses for students from underrepresented groups. This school offers evening, weekend and part-time professional courses for aspiring and working actors, as well as its longer BA program, supported by Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (QMU) and its Youth Academy for actors ages 11-18. Many of its courses now operate out of the Collective Theatre and its production spaces, making it a unique opportunity where professional shows and training coexist.
The venue will also be offering many of its rehearsal and production facilities for rent by artists and creators outside of the school. While details on bookings are forthcoming, the venue’s spaces include voice and production studios, rehearsal rooms, classroom and greenroom spaces, and the Collective Theatre’s 100–150 person performance studio, as well as its modern and welcoming café and bar.
On October 19th, the Collective Theatre will open previews for its first production, Influence. Starring Kit Young (Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) as ‘The Magician’, and written by the Stockroom team, the show promises to combine acting and professional magic to challenge the audience’s powers of perception, making them question the line between illusion and reality. Preview tickets are just £10, running October 19th-24th, with the show’s primary run from October 25th to December 2nd.
As a trailblazing combo of theatre venue and drama school, the Collective Theatre will be a space to watch in the coming months. Check out Influence on October 19th, or sign up for one of Collective Acting Studio’s courses today!
Hamish Hutchison-Poyntz is a theatre practitioner, writer and reviewer, and aspiring director/producer. He recently completed his MA in Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary, University of London, specializing in the use of games and participatory theatre to respond to the climate crisis. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, he now lives in London’s East End. Besides theatre, he loves games, spooky audiodramas, and good cats (which is to say, all cats).
