ABOUT US

MISSION STATEMENT

About Us

To be a successful and accessible theatre, cinema and art gallery providing an artistic programme of the highest quality that attracts and reflects the culturally diverse local community; as well as supporting socially inclusive educational programmes.

The Building

Since it opened in a converted Forester’s Hall in 1980, the Tricycle has become one of London’s most respected and loved theatres. It produces a challenging and innovative programme of theatre, cinema and visual arts attracting the local community and audiences from far beyond its home on the Kilburn High Road.

In 1987 the theatre was almost totally destroyed by a fire which started in a neighbouring timber yard. Two years later it was re-built and the front of house facilities were enhanced and expanded. In Autumn 1998 a new cinema building was completed alongside the theatre. The Tricycle now comprises a 230 seat theatre, a 300 seat cinema, a large rehearsal studio (endowed by Sir Cameron Mackintosh), a visual arts studio for educational use – The Paintbox (endowed by The John S Cohen Foundation), and a smaller theatre / workshop space – The James Baldwin Studio, as well as a Café/Bar and Art Gallery and the Creative Space, built in 2001 for educational and social inclusion workshops.

Notable Productions

Under its director Nicolas Kent the theatre has earned a reputation for presenting work which reflects the cultural diversity of its neighbourhood, in particular plays by Irish, African-Caribbean, Jewish and Asian writers, as well as responding to contemporary issues and events with its ground-breaking ‘tribunal plays’.

Notable theatre productions staged at the Tricycle have included the British premiere of THE GREAT WHITE HOPE by Howard Sackler (later re-staged for the Royal Shakespeare Company), THE AMEN CORNER by James Baldwin (which later transferred to the Lyric Theatre), the world premiere of PLAYBOY OF THE WEST INDIES by Mustapha Matura which has subsequently received more than twenty productions all over the world, has been televised for BBC Television and has returned for 10th and 20th anniversary productions in 1994 and 2004; as well as the British premieres of five Broadway successes: JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, THE PIANO LESSON, TWO TRAINS RUNNIN' and KING HEDLEY II by August Wilson and THREE HOTELS by Jon Robin Baitz. The original Tricycle production of the Fats Waller musical AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' transferred to the Lyric Theatre in the West End. The South African musical KAT & THE KINGS transferred from the Tricycle Theatre to the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End and won two 1999 Olivier Awards for Best New Musical and Best Actor - awarded to the entire cast. It later transferred to Broadway. STONES IN HIS POCKETS opened at the Tricycle in 1999 and transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre and then on to the Duke of York's Theatre, both in the West End, it won the EVENING STANDARD AWARD FOR BEST COMEDY and opened on Broadway to great acclaim in 2001.

At the beginning of the new millennium highlights included the premieres of Harold Pinter's THE DWARFS and Athol Fugard's SORROWS & REJOICINGS. Two world premieres of plays about the political situation in Northern Ireland: AS THE BEAST SLEEPS by Gary Mitchell and 10 ROUNDS by Carlo Gebler (nominated for the Ewart-Biggs prize), and a collaboration with the Royal National Theatre of Zinnie Harris' FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING. The 2002 production of Arthur Miller’s THE PRICE returned to the Tricycle in 2003 before a hugely successful run at the Apollo Theatre in the West End, and a national tour in 2004

In 2005/6 the Tricycle pioneered a black ensemble company in three British premieres of African-American plays chronicling the black experience of the last 100 years: WALK HARD by Abram Hill, GEM OF THE OCEAN by the late August Wilson and FABULATION by Lynn Nottage.

Highlights of 2006 included a production of seven plays written by members of the Tricycle's Writers Group (sponsored by Bloomberg) HOW LONG IS NEVER ? – DARFUR A RESPONSE, a sell-out run of Mark Thomas: AS USED ON THE FAMOUS NELSON MANDELA, and J.B. Keane’s THE FIELD

In September 2006 (together with Fiery Angel Ltd), the Tricycle presented John Buchan's 39 STEPS adapted by Patrick Barlow to sell out houses. It immediately transferred to the Criterion Theatre in the West End. It opened on Broadway in January 2008.

In November 2006, the Tricycle was very proud to win a Special Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for "its pioneering political work".

Tribunal Plays

In 1994 the Tricycle produced HALF THE PICTURE by Richard Norton-Taylor and John McGrath (a dramatisation of the Scott Arms to Iraq Inquiry), which was the first play ever to be performed in the Houses of Parliament. This was the first of a series of plays that have subsequently become known as the Tricycle Tribunal Plays. The next, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1946 War Crimes Tribunal, was NUREMBERG, which was followed by SREBRENICA – the UN Rule 61 Hearings, which later transferred to the National Theatre and the Belfast Festival. In 1999, the Tricycle's reconstruction of The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry - THE COLOUR OF JUSTICE received tremendous critical and public acclaim went on to play for two weeks at Theatre Royal, Stratford East and successfully transfer to the Victoria Palace in the West End. It completed a national tour in 1999 which included Belfast and the Royal National Theatre. In 2003 JUSTIFYING WAR – Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry opened at the Tricycle. All five of these plays have been broadcast by the BBC, and have together reached audiences of over 25 million people worldwide. In 2004 the Tricycle produced the critically acclaimed GUANTANAMO ‘Honor Bound to Defend Freedom’ from spoken evidence by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo which transferred to the New Ambassadors Theatre in the West End and the Culture Project in New York (where Archbishop Tutu appeared in the production). From 2004/6 it was performed in eleven countries around the world. In 2006 the Tricycle presented a performance of the play at the Houses of Parliament and also on Washington's Capitol Hill.

BLOODY SUNDAY – Scenes from the Saville Inquiry opened in 2005 to critical acclaim. Later in 2005 it transferred to Belfast, Derry and to the Abbey Theatre for the Dublin Theatre Festival.,

In 2006, the Tricycle was presented with a Laurence Olivier Award for "outstanding achievement " for BLOODY SUNDAY.

The most recent play in the Tricbunal series was CALLED TO ACCOUNT, which also broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2007.

Guest Productions

The Tricycle has played host to some of the best international companies including the Druid Theatre Company from Ireland and The Market Theatre of Johannesburg (whose production of BORN IN THE RSA was televised by Tricycle Television for Channel 4). More recently the Tricycle has enjoyed productive relationships with companies such as Talawa with their production of James Baldwin’s BLUES FOR MR CHARLIE and Oxford Stage Company with revivals of SINGER by Peter Flannery, and Brendan Behan’s THE QUARE FELLOW, The Manchester Royal Exchange's production of Tom Murphy’s WHISTLE IN THE DARK, Shared Experience's ORESTES, as well as Sheffield Theatre's production of Harold Pinter's THE CARETAKER.

Box Office

Phone: 020 7328 1000

Online Booking by Ticketweb

Box Office opening hours: 10am - 9pm, Monday - Saturday, and 2 - 9pm on Sundays.

For more Box Office and access information, please visit the "Box Office" section of the website.

To download our new Annual Report click here

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