Tricycle Theatre

The Tricycle views the world through a variety of lenses, bringing unheard voices into the mainstream. It presents high-quality and innovative work, which provokes debate and emotionally engages. Located in Brent, the most diverse borough in London, the Tricycle is a local venue with an international vision.

Converted from an old music and dance hall, the Tricycle first opened in 1980 as the permanent home of the Wakefield Tricycle Company – a touring theatre company which was formed in 1971 by Ken Chubb and Shirley Barrie. The company presented new plays and children’s theatre throughout Britain and internationally. Ironically, they never played Wakefield.

From 1984 onwards, the Tricycle became established as a powerhouse for political theatre, under the leadership of Nicolas Kent, producing critically acclaimed tribunal plays alongside an eclectic programme of new writing.

Today, with Indhu Rubasingham as Artistic Director, the Tricycle Theatre continues its reputation in presenting the highest quality British and international work that reflects the diversity of its community.

Open seven days a week, the Tricycle not only offers a unique 235 seat theatre, but also an independent 300 seat cinema, vibrant bar and café, plus three rehearsal spaces that are often used for our community and education work, Tricycle shows, or external hires.

To find out how you can support us, click here.

 

Theatre

The Tricycle presents at least six productions per year in our intimate and unique theatre. Many of these are ‘commissioned’ and written specifically for this theatre, or are programmed in collaboration with national or international companies.

‘There is no theatre in Britain that punches so consistently above its size and weight than the Tricycle’
The Daily Telegraph, 2009

Notable past productions include: The Great Game: Afghanistan, which toured the USA including two command performances for the Pentagon; Bloody Sunday which was performed at the Abbey in Dublin, Belfast and Derry, winning an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement; Half the Picture, the first play ever performed in the Houses of Parliament; and Playboy of the West Indies, which was subsequently televised for the BBC.

West End transfers include: Ain’t Misbehavin’; The Price; The Colour of Justice: The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; Guantanamo; and Broken Glass.

Productions that transferred to the West End and Broadway include the Olivier Award-winning productions: The 39 Steps, Kat and the Kings and Stones in His Pockets.   

For details of our current season, click here.

To see our productions archive, click here.

 

Cinema

The Tricycle’s luxury 300 seat cinema shows the best art-house, mainstream and family films alongside festivals and special Q&A screenings.

Highlights include film Q&As with the critically acclaimed directors Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Sam Mendes and Stephen Frears; as well as internationally-renowned actors including Jim Broadbent, Kim Cattrall and Julie Christie.

Partners have included: BFI London Film Festival, Images of Black Women Film Festival, the UK Jewish Film Festival, DocHouse, and the Kilburn Film Festival.

For more details of our film programme, click here.

 

Creative Learning

The Tricycle is committed to inspiring young people from the local community to express themselves creatively in a fun, safe and professional environment. Our Creative Learning programme reaches a large number of young people offering workshops, engagement with professional artists and opportunities to perform on stage. Whether these are young people with a passion for performance, looking to develop self-esteem, or in search of identity and a sense of community – the theatre is theirs, and they are the future audiences and artists.

Our popular workshops cater for those aged 18 months to 21 years, with a successful Tricycle Youth Theatre featuring some of the theatre stars of the future.

For more details about our current workshops click here.

The Tricycle’s award-winning social inclusion projects include:

Minding the Gap, working with young newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers not yet in the mainstream school system.

Press Road, working with young residents from the Press Road Estate, which is affected by high levels of anti social behavior, gang-related crime and deprivation.

Both projects embrace drama, visual art and creative writing to establish a sense of community and celebrate diverse cultures.

For more details about our social inclusion projects click here.

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