The curtain is set to rise on an exciting new theatre space that has been carved out of the old Lilla Huset building on Talgarth Road, Hammersmith.
Nestled alongside the flyover in the space between the landmark Ark office block and the new Premier Inn hotel, the building is now home to SCRUM, a theatre cooperative and arts education charity.
“We've spent six months transforming the abandoned building into something special,” said Jerrell Cumberbatch from the arts company.
“There are three rehearsal studios, a co-working space for writers, a designers’ workroom, a photography studio and what will soon be a 250-seat theatre.”
In an era when so many performing spaces have disappeared, it’s a significant addition to Hammersmith & Fulham’s theatre scene.
Patron and Laurence Olivier award-winning actor Adrian Lester, known to millions from the hit TV series Hustle, will cut the ribbon when the building officially opens in mid-September.
The young team behind SCRUM describe themselves as a ‘democratic collective of theatre-makers and artists’, led by a board of trustees including Sir David Bell, a former chairman of Sadlers Wells.
Lilla Huset, which is Swedish for Little House, is an elongated TARDIS of a building – it’s a 13,500 sq ft of space, owned and let by the next-door Ark offices.
As part of its aim of supporting new, young theatre groups, every Wednesday evening rehearsal space is provided on a pay-what-you-can basis from 5-9pm, under the tag Scrum & Get It.
Before moving into its new home, SCRUM ran a series of summer workshops covering acting, directing, Shakespeare, traditional storytelling, drag, movement, voice, clowning, set design and intimacy co-ordination, giving a flavour of the range of activities that can be expected in future.
The SCRUM flexible studio spaces, named Sarah, Federico and Ira, are available for hire from £200 per day.
For more details visit the SCRUM Theatre website.
