Kings Head Theatre Events
Kings Head Theatre
115 Upper Street,
Islington,
N1 1QW
Tel: 020 7226 1916
Founded in 1970, The King's Head in Islington is the original pub theatre, and still the best. Opened up by visionary American landlord Dan Crawford, it rapidly prospered thanks to the incredible depth of writing and performance talent in the area.
Actors and artists who got their first break in this humble but atmospheric theatre include Steven Berkoff, Kenneth Branagh, Kathy Burke, Dawn French, John Hurt, Ben Kingsley, Joanna Lumley, Gary Oldman, Clive Owen, Nigel Planer, Alan Rickman, Tom Stoppard and Victoria Wood. On a lucky night you can catch a Hollywood megastar having a nostalgic pint at the cosy bar after watching a show.
The Kings Head is a beautiful little pub with a theatre upstairs. The success of original productions which debut here is incredible - one in ten go on to the West End and Broadway. The staging is modest, the atmosphere intimate, and the discernment of the locals, unforgiving. When Dan died in 2005 tributes poured in from around the world. The theatre has kept his legacy alive with several breakthrough productions in the past few years.
Actors and artists who got their first break in this humble but atmospheric theatre include Steven Berkoff, Kenneth Branagh, Kathy Burke, Dawn French, John Hurt, Ben Kingsley, Joanna Lumley, Gary Oldman, Clive Owen, Nigel Planer, Alan Rickman, Tom Stoppard and Victoria Wood. On a lucky night you can catch a Hollywood megastar having a nostalgic pint at the cosy bar after watching a show.
The Kings Head is a beautiful little pub with a theatre upstairs. The success of original productions which debut here is incredible - one in ten go on to the West End and Broadway. The staging is modest, the atmosphere intimate, and the discernment of the locals, unforgiving. When Dan died in 2005 tributes poured in from around the world. The theatre has kept his legacy alive with several breakthrough productions in the past few years.
10.38 AM May 22th "Opening a week today! So get moving on those £10 tickets... #MaryQueenScots #OffWithHerHead http://t.co/tzcQ7jysoC"
10.36 AM May 22th "The 1st of some amazing pics of #MaryQueenScots rehearsals by Simon Annand... a bird's eye view of the room: http://t.co/Guuuic2NKT"
10.18 AM May 22th "@Stage_Fairy @fly276 @Tai_Lawrence I think you mean the King's Head in Crouch End... we're in Islington!"
4.05 PM May 20th "A cosy night of dominoes with Queen Mary and @worldofthom, @mikeypaolo and @Fernon_Lang #MaryQueenScots http://t.co/Us3ee8k3UM"
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More Info
Nearest Tubes:
- Angel (0.5 m)
- Kings Cross St. Pancras (0.8 m)
- Russell Square (1.4 m)
Upcoming Events at Kings Head Theatre
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Reviews
PM Elliott
Thursday, 19 March
THE MURDER GAME provided a enjoyable New Orleans infused evening. It was funny and well written. There was good tension, and chemistry, between Josefina Gabrielle and Michael Praed, the estranged legal luminaries ,who are reconciled at the end of the play.
Patrick Clancy played brilliantly as the office boy, devoted to both judge and the prosecuting attorney, and who devises the plot to bring them together again. The play moved at a good fast pace and the audience enjoyed themselves immensely.
Patrick Clancy played brilliantly as the office boy, devoted to both judge and the prosecuting attorney, and who devises the plot to bring them together again. The play moved at a good fast pace and the audience enjoyed themselves immensely.
christanola
Monday, 23 March
I can't remember when I last enjoyed a theatrical evening as much as my night at the Kings Head viewing The Murder Game. The cast was lively and the give and take between Josefina Gabrielle and Michael Praed, playing husband and wife, very funny.
Very well written, the author James Farwell gave us a witty and charming evening.
Very well written, the author James Farwell gave us a witty and charming evening.
kinglux
Tuesday, 27 July
BUBBA & LUVVIE: KINGS HEAD THEATRE: Bubba & Luvvie by Angus Strachan is a play set around the midnight meeting of an aging madam and a drunken police officer at a cliff top. What seems like a chance meeting quickly turns into a series of stark coincidences as they discover that their stories are bound by certain shared events. The play explores the meaning of truth when felt wholeheartedly from two polarised points of view.
Continually playing with language – a quick moving colloquialised soliloquy – and emphasised by video projections, the two actors hold the atmosphere and tension throughout. Using prolonged mime and gesture to emphasise the importance of linguistic traps and verbal aggression, I was left in a rapid fire haze of what was real and what was imaginary to the characters. But then that’s the whole point: what is the murky truth to these two people and in a wider context, is it necessary to reconcile two viewpoints, so that others may understand? It seems truth is not made of stone. Under closer inspection it is closer to a fluid.
Bubba & Luvvie is thoroughly enjoyable theatre and a great example of how a space can be filled with the sheer presence and dominance of wordplay and its physicality. Thumbs up!
Continually playing with language – a quick moving colloquialised soliloquy – and emphasised by video projections, the two actors hold the atmosphere and tension throughout. Using prolonged mime and gesture to emphasise the importance of linguistic traps and verbal aggression, I was left in a rapid fire haze of what was real and what was imaginary to the characters. But then that’s the whole point: what is the murky truth to these two people and in a wider context, is it necessary to reconcile two viewpoints, so that others may understand? It seems truth is not made of stone. Under closer inspection it is closer to a fluid.
Bubba & Luvvie is thoroughly enjoyable theatre and a great example of how a space can be filled with the sheer presence and dominance of wordplay and its physicality. Thumbs up!
Kings Head Theatre
115, Upper Street
Islington
N1 1QW
115, Upper Street
Islington
N1 1QW
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