Tricycle Theatre - History

History

The Tricycle Theatre opened on the Kilburn High Road, London, in 1980 as the permanent home of the Wakefield Tricycle Company, a touring theatre company that was known for producing British premieres, new writing, children's shows and theatre for the community in London and the South East. The Wakefield Tricycle Company had been started in 1972 by Ken Chubb and Shirley Barrie, performing initially in a room behind the Pindar of Wakefield pub in Kings Cross. Before long the Company was commissioning new plays which it presented at arts centres around the country and then brought in to small London theatres which were springing up at that time, such as The Bush and The King’s Head.

As regards the slightly eccentric name of Wakefield Tricycle Company (and hence the present theatre), Ken Chubb recalled in 2013," Our memories of the naming of the company were that Shirley and I and our close friend Lib Spry, (who was an actor in our first production), were sitting in the back room of the 'Pindar'. We had to print a poster and needed a name. The pun on the Wakefield Cycle of mystery plays and the pub's name and the three of us, all seemed to fit". Wakefield Tricycle Company produced over 60 productions, including several plays by Sam Shepard, John Antrobus, and Olwen Wymark. In addition, they produced a number of plays in community venues examining social issues, and several children's plays, some of which were written by WTC co-founder Shirley Barrie.

After securing the support of the London Borough of Brent, the GLA and Arts Council England, the company was given a lease and began converting the Forester's Hall on the Kilburn High Road into what is now known as the Tricycle Theatre (Wakefield being dropped from the company's name at this point), opting for this space due to the lack of local entertainment facilities for the residents of Kilburn at the time. The Foresters Hall, which was built for the Ancient Order of Foresters had previously been used for various purposes. Elderly local residents recalled it being used as a cinema and also as an music and dance hall. Immediately before becoming The Tricycle, the building was being used as makeshift temporary offices for Brent Housing Department and the local Rent Tribunal. Again Ken Chubb recalled " It was like a rabbit warren with no ceilings so you could see the vaulted ceiling from the offices and if you set up a ladder you could just see the top of the proscenium arch".

The 235 seat auditorium, designed by architect Tim Foster and theatre consultant Iain Mackintosh, was modelled on the Georgian Courtyard Theatre in Richmond, Yorkshire. It was built using free-standing system-scaffolding that supported padded benches rather than individual seats. The combination of primary red scaffolding with seats and trim in the theatre's signature blue, gave the theatre a very contemporary feel which belied its Georgian inspiration. Shirley Barrie recalled " The primary considerations were intimacy, the connection between the performers and the audience, and a departure from the black box that had dominated theatre for years". The pre-existing proscenium arch was in front of a stage so shallow as to be almost useless, so a large apron was built to take the acting area out into 'the courtyard', leaving the old stage as almost a backstage area, frequently unused in Tricycle productions, but leaving the theatre with the oddity of a proscenium arch framing a small rear, inner acting area.

From its beginnings, the Tricycle was committed to providing children's theatre, art exhibitions, youth theatre workshops and encouraging new writing by writer's workshops, among the tutors for these workshops was, the then relatively unknown, Anthony Minghella.

In 1984 Ken and Shirley turned the Tricycle over to artistic director, Nicolas Kent, who had previously brought a successful production of Playboy of the West Indies, by Mustapha Matura, to the Tricycle with the Oxford Theatre Company. Ken Chubb and Shirley Barrie returned shortly therafter to their native Canada where they have continued working in Theatre, and education.

In 1987 the theatre suffered a devastating fire that spread from a neighbouring timber yard and which seriously damaged the building, however, after extensive fundraising, the theatre was rebuilt and reopened in 1989, with only minor alterations, the original design having been such a success.

Among the highpoints of the first 10 years, were productions of Return to the Forbidden Planet, Just So and productions by National Theatre of Brent, Talawa Theatre Company, Carib Theatre,Market Theatre of JohannesburgPaines Plough, Foco Novo, The Black Theatre Co-operative, Field Day, Druid, Shared Experience and others.

In 1998, a 300 seat cinema was added to the complex, and in 2001 the Creative Space was built for the theatre's extensive education and community work. All stages of the development were designed by Tim Foster Architects.

From 1984 to 2012, the Tricycle Theatre's artistic director was Nicolas Kent. In 2012 the role was taken over by Indhu Rubasingham.