The Albany Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford
, south-east London.
Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 600 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. The Albany currently hosts a varied programme of events including music, spoken word, theatre, club nights, and children's shows. Several arts and community organisations are based at the Albany including spoken word promoters Apples & Snakes and Heart n Soul who provide opportunities for artists with learning disabilities.
It was not until the early 1970s that a touring theatre company became resident at the Albany and the organisation began to focus on fusion between community work and the arts.
In 1970s here hosted 15 Rock Against Racism
gigs and Dire Straits performed here 2 July 1978.
On July 14, 1978, the Albany's theatre, then called Albany Empire, was destroyed by fire, the cause of which has never been established. Plans were put in place for a new purpose built building incorporating theatre spaces, a cafe, community rooms and offices. This new building on Douglas Way was officially opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1982.
During the 1980s the Albany hosted by performances by many well-known artists, including Elvis Costello
, Squeeze, Vic Reeves
and Bob Mortimer
, Julian Clary
, Courtney Pine
and the Jazz Warriors
. The building was also home to many social, creative and community organisations.
Cuts in public funding in the 1990s meant the arts programme had to be scaled back. However in 2001 the Royal National Theatre
's Art of Regeneration initiative invested heavily in the organisation, enabling refurbishment of the building and the re-establishment of a programme of performances.
Charles Hayward
, an experimental rock
musician, organises a series of performances at the theatre under the name "Accidents + Emergencies".
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, south-east London.
Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 600 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. The Albany currently hosts a varied programme of events including music, spoken word, theatre, club nights, and children's shows. Several arts and community organisations are based at the Albany including spoken word promoters Apples & Snakes and Heart n Soul who provide opportunities for artists with learning disabilities.
History
The original Albany Institute was opened in 1899 and provided various activities and support to a local population with high levels of poverty and deprivation.It was not until the early 1970s that a touring theatre company became resident at the Albany and the organisation began to focus on fusion between community work and the arts.
In 1970s here hosted 15 Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
gigs and Dire Straits performed here 2 July 1978.
On July 14, 1978, the Albany's theatre, then called Albany Empire, was destroyed by fire, the cause of which has never been established. Plans were put in place for a new purpose built building incorporating theatre spaces, a cafe, community rooms and offices. This new building on Douglas Way was officially opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1982.
During the 1980s the Albany hosted by performances by many well-known artists, including Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Squeeze, Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
and Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
, Julian Clary
Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
, Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
and the Jazz Warriors
Jazz Warriors
The Jazz Warriors were an all-black London-based group of jazz musicians that made their debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts - a London organization that promoted black music and black culture - in 1985...
. The building was also home to many social, creative and community organisations.
Cuts in public funding in the 1990s meant the arts programme had to be scaled back. However in 2001 the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
's Art of Regeneration initiative invested heavily in the organisation, enabling refurbishment of the building and the re-establishment of a programme of performances.
Charles Hayward
Charles Hayward (musician)
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
, an experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
musician, organises a series of performances at the theatre under the name "Accidents + Emergencies".
| 1978 1978 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.... -1981 1981 in music See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –... concerts |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Year | Musician(s) | Tour | Note |
| October 27 | 1976 1976 in music -January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle.... |
Squeeze | ||
| as Empire | ||||
| April 3 | 1978 1978 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.... |
Squeeze | ||
| as Empire | ||||
| July 2 | 1978 1978 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.... |
Dire Straits Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest... |
Dire Straits Tour Dire Straits tour Dire Straits tour was the first concert tour of Dire Straits held in 1978.On it, songs from the debut album of the group Dire Straits were played.- Overview :... |
as Empire |
| December 28 | 1978 1978 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.... |
Squeeze | ||
| December 18 | 1981 1981 in music See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –... |
Squeeze | ||
Transport connections
| London Buses | ||
| Stop F | Florence Road 53 London Buses route 53 London Buses route 53 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:... , 177 London Buses route 177 London Buses route 177 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:Route 177 came about as part of the replacement of London's trams in 1952... , 225, 453 London Buses route 453 London Buses route 453 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:... , N89 0.2 mile walk |
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| Stop E | Deptford High Street 53 London Buses route 53 London Buses route 53 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:... , 177 London Buses route 177 London Buses route 177 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:Route 177 came about as part of the replacement of London's trams in 1952... , 225, 453 London Buses route 453 London Buses route 453 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:... , N89 0.2 mile walk |
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| Stop M | Wavelengths 47, N47 0.2 mile walk | |
| Stop L | Wavelengths 47, N47 0.2 mile walk | |
| Docklands Light Railway | Deptford Bridge Deptford Bridge DLR station Deptford Bridge DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway in Deptford, south-east London. The station is elevated above both local roads and Deptford Creek, and is adjacent to Lewisham College and Deptford market.... 0.4 mile walk |
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| London Overground | New Cross New Cross station New Cross railway station is a railway station in New Cross, London. It is in Zone 2, on the East London Line. Closed in late 2007, the station was refurbished and re-opened as part of the London Overground network on 27 April 2010 for preview services... 0.3 mile walk |
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| National Rail | Deptford Deptford railway station Deptford is a suburban railway station in the UK capital city of London. It is located in Deptford, London Borough of Lewisham, on the North Kent Line, about three miles from London Bridge station... 0.2 mile walk New Cross New Cross station New Cross railway station is a railway station in New Cross, London. It is in Zone 2, on the East London Line. Closed in late 2007, the station was refurbished and re-opened as part of the London Overground network on 27 April 2010 for preview services... 0.3 mile walk |