London’s world-famous experimental pub-theatre has secured its future with a move into Shepherd’s Bush old library. Church and council permission were given yesterday for conversion of the library (owned by the Church of England) to be ready for curtain-up in 2011 when the lease on the Bush’s space in O’Neill’s pub, Shepherd’s Bush Green, expires.
The theatre established links with the library last year when it set up a script library asking publishers to donate play texts - now running to hundreds of volumes. It’s taken 18 months of negotiating with Hammersmith and Fulham Council to find a premises as problems increasingly plagued the shabby little studio theatre, from leaks to powercuts. One season, sardonically entitled The Broken Space, staged its plays in near-darkness.
The redevelopment of the picturesque old library for the Bush Theatre is a major element of a regenerative project for Shepherd’s Bush Market, left behind by the huge new development of the Westfield mall, where the new library now is.
Bush at the Library, as the new theatre is dubbed, was considerably aided by the fact that Culture Minister Ed Vaizey is a fan of the Bush and was a former Board member. He got Hammersmith Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh on side.
Architect Steve Tompkins of Haworth Tompkins - top names in arts projects with award-winning conversions at the Young Vic, Royal Court, Hayward Gallery and Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry - will handle the library’s conversion. The theatre is now launching a capital fundraising campaign.
The Bush’s artistic director Josie Rourke said she and her team were thrilled by the outcome of a “long-planned dream”. “Our current space above the pub (pictured right) has seen some extraordinary productions, but after 38 years it is time for the Bush to find a new home.
"The old library is a perfect fit for The Bush at the right time in the company’s history. This beautiful building, just around the corner, will vastly improve the Bush experience for writers, artists and for our audiences. The Bush is the first and the cornerstone building of the planned regeneration of the local market, and we're excited by the opportunity to work closely with local residents and businesses to make this corner of Shepherd's Bush a vibrant destination for the community.”
Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey added that he was “over the moon” and looked forward to celebrating with them.
The theatre opened in 1972 in a room upstairs in the old Bush Hotel. Although it has fewer than 100 seats, it came to establish a profile as the seedbed of new playwrights. It nurtured the early careers of such as Victoria Wood, Tina Brown (New Yorker editor), Mike Leigh, Stephen Poliakoff, Snoo Wilson, Terry Johnson, Tony Kushner and Catherine Johnson. Artistic directors Mark Ravenhill, Dominic Dromgoole, Mike Bradwell and since 2008 Josie Rourke have found the tiny space no limitation to generating a premier-league reputation.
Bush premieres that went on to international success include Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting and Filth, Tom Kempinski’s Duet for One, Sharman Macdonald’s When I Was a Girl I Used To Scream and Shout, Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing and National Theatre of Brent’s Love Upon the Throne. Two years ago a threat by the Arts Council to cut the Bush’s funding was fended off with a public campaign.
Royal connection: Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were spotted in the tiny auditorium for Sean Mathias’s A Prayer for Wings in 1985.
- The Bush Theatre's website shows current season
- theartsdesk reviews of Bush Theatre productions
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