Kiln Theatre Finally Reopens with New Season

Finally got to the reopened Kiln Theatre for its new production, Holysh!t, on Saturday and thereby got my first look at the new theatre. 

Kilburn High Road Entrance

The Kilburn High Road frontage is broader with a yet to be opened café sharing the frontage with the old entrance in what used to be the Forresters' Hall.  Behind that are the toilets as go up the corridor towards the auditorium.  The signage is somewhat confusing and I saw women trying to get into the male toilets and men into the womens'.

Auditorium

The actual auditorium has obviously been the focus of a lot of thought.  As promised the sightlines are much better with a fuller view of what seemed to me a wider stage.  More importantly the seats are more comfortable, numbered and accessible via an aisle either side.  That may not sound important, but it meant that the audience could get in and out before and during the interval much quicker and without all that standing there waiting to get past someone trying to pick up their bag or coat. 

The distinctly 1980s disabled access appears to have been replaced by more modern arrangements, and according to press reports, all the lighting and so on is now much more modern.  The bar and box office seem to be largely the same, although there is a very big homage now to the history of the theatre, similar to the feature on the Kiln Theatre web site. 

This may be intended to try to assuage the people still angry about the name change.  Personally, I think such people might do well to appreciate just how hard it is to achieve what the Kiln Theatre team have now achieved.

Holysh!t

Which brings us to Holysh!t the play, which is after all the real heart of any theatre.  It was a much darker play than I had imagined it would be, revolving around the cultural politics of identity, fairness and parental anxieties.  The whole play climaxes with a scene involving victim hierarchies which is all too accurate.  It may be that I particularly feel this after the Labour Party's torrid Summer dealing with antisemitism, which has been more than a little demoralising. 

However, the return of the theatre as a going concern should be an enormous benefit to Kilburn High Road.  The premises have a 24 hour licensing application, I believe, under consideration at the moment, and assuming that goes through it should be able to become even more effective. 

UPDATE 11.09.18

Whatsonstage has an interview by Indhu Rubasingham explaining her thinking in the rebuild project.