ETCETERA THEATRE
For artists, by artists. In the heart of Camden Town since 1986
NEWS: Otto Jäger took over the management of Etcetera Theatre last year (2022) having worked at the theatre since 2017 as senior theatre technician.
Image: Otto Jäger and Martyn Donelly accepting RUNNER-UP AWARD FOR PUB THEATRE OF THE YEAR 2023 (Ross Kernahan photography)
What's on
at Etcetera Theatre
THEATRE PROFILE
ETCETERA
above the Oxford Arms
265 Camden High Street
London NW1 7BU
IN A NUTSHELL
It is a stalwart of off west end festivals as well as having a regular programme of shows. Established in 1986 it is one of the most intimate pub theatres, just large enough for 42 seated comfortably with excellent sight lines. Since its foundation, this award-winning theatre has become one of the milestone venues of the London fringe circuit. A visit here is essential viewing; it’s where the talent of the future stops en-route to making it big in the industry. Shows have transferred to some of the country's top venues, including the Royal Court, Arcola, Trafalgar Studios, the Bush, Hampstead Theatre, the BAC and Riverside Studios.
LOCATION
The theatre is right in the heart of Camden High Street, a tourist’s dream with the world-famous Camden market at one end and Camden Town tube station at the other. The original punk rock capital of London it retains an edgy vibe and an alternative arts scene where the young flock to listen to music, shop and eat al fresco.
Nearest tube: Camden Town (Northern Line)
Bus routes: 24, 27, 29, 31, 88, 134, 168, 214, 253, 274, and C2
PRODUCTIONS
The programme spans across everything from award winning theatre to thrilling new writing; cabaret, magic, comedy and musicals.
FESTIVALS
It’s a hub for several of London's most exciting annual theatre festivals: a founding venue of the Camden Fringe (July and August), and creator of the Black Box Festival (January). It also hosts an Edinburgh Fringe preview season that frequently attracts some of the biggest names in stand-up and sketch comedy. It has two new festivals in the pipeline, Oktoberfest and October Fright Fest. With two shows a night, there’s something for everybody. Look out for their matinees, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday aimed at younger audiences.
VALUE ADDED
For theatre goers:
Free membership of the Etcetera theatre club. You will pay full price for your first ticket but thereafter you receive £1.50 discount for every future ticket you buy (except for fringe shows).
For theatre Professionals:
This black box space offers very reasonable hire fees. The Etcetera team work to establish a healthy and sustainable relationship with all incoming companies and are happy to provide support and advice throughout the production process. They are continuing to create a strong platform for the capital's emerging theatre makers. The theatre has had a recent upgrade of it’s technical equipments.
THE PUB – THE OXFORD ARMS
A vibrant family run pub since 1968, with wholesome home-made traditional pub food, and a warm welcoming atmosphere. The pub dates back to Victorian times with original sash windows and high ceilings. You can take the time to relax here and enjoy free wi-fi, game machines, live music, charity events, sports screenings and the beer garden.
DID YOU KNOW …
David Bidmead founded the theatre in 1986 and still owns it. He has a background in theatre performance, management and was also one of the original marketeers at Camden Market selling punk rock clothing.
Since 1986, Etcetera has provided an essential springboard for theatre companies, comedians and performers looking to launch themselves into the arts industry. Shows have transferred to some of the country's top venues, including the Royal Court, the Arcola, Trafalgar Studios, the Bush, the Hampstead, the BAC and Riverside Studios.
Alongside supporting new theatre-makers, they're also well known for introducing new comedy to the London scene, from brand new acts to hosting warm up shows from UK's biggest names - including Simon Amstell, Russell Brand, Al Murray, Milton Jones, Mark Thomas, Robin Ince, We Are Klang, Bill Bailey, Jerry Sadowitz, Russell Howard and Richard Herring.
Their reputation for supporting new artists earned them the Guinness Ingenuity Award for Pub Theatre in 1996, and a nomination for the Peter Brook Empty Space Award.
The Camden Fringe was set-up (and is still run by) Zena Barrie and Michelle Flower at Etcetera Theatre in 2006. As a duo the pair ran the Etcetera Theatre in Camden for 8 years from the beginning of 2004.
ARCHIVE INTERVIEW WITH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMILY KEEBLE (IN OFFICE FROM 2019 - 2022)
Heather Jeffery March 2020
“Theatre now is not so much about getting a degree but about artistic dedication and diversity ... ”
Emily Keeble started as a technician at Etcetera theatre in 2017. She got to know the theatre better as the number of her shifts increased and then the current Artistic Director, Pierre, asked her to take over his role in February 2019. Having managed bars in hospitality and studied technical theatre at college, before completing her theatre degrees, she had an ideal background to take the theatre forward.
The history of Etcetera theatre starts with David Bidmead, who founded the theatre in 1986. He had a background in theatre performance and management and in fact he still owns it. He had been one of the original marketeers at Camden Market selling punk rock clothing. Etcetera’s association with traditional Camden has formed the character of the theatre, which has seen Etcetera Theatre a mainstay of the fringe scene.
Emily still asks for advice when she needs it. “But I’ve got full rein” she says with pride. Sure, if she wants to make any changes, she has to square it with the owner David Bidmead but it’s clear he’s got every confidence in her, so it’s full steam ahead. The theatre has had a total revamp. It now enjoys new lighting, and a new lighting desk which was donated by kind theatre friends at Cockpit theatre. Emily and one of the set/costume designers who work with the theatre replaced the floor and tabs and the theatre is freshened up with a new paint job. “The place was beginning to look a bit dreary” says Emily. The sound system is also upgraded with a brand-new amplifier. “None of it’s wireless, the theatre is too small” explains Emily “it’s good because actors project their voices without the need to use mics but we now have more technical capability, there are more options to be creative with our equipment.”
However, there are some things that Emily doesn’t want to change. “I’m not a huge fan of Camden being gentrified. I liked it the way it was before when it had so much character. It had genuine folk. Now the places are closing down, cafes, old shops, quirky places are being replaced by modern stuff”. It hasn’t stopped the tourists coming to see the world-famous Camden Town and Emily is grateful for that but she still wants to preserve some things. “I’d love to keep Etcetera as it is now, not change the lights to LED” she explains. “It just goes with this more rustic theatre and it would be a shame to change that”.
Just before the shutdown Emily was being interviewed in her small office with 20 or so electrical cables for lighting hung neatly from the walls. Emily looks perfectly as home. The files hold the archives, at her fingertips and her computer is open, so she can send the images for the article through whilst we’re chatting. She seems organised, tidy and in control and yet she has a laid back and friendly demeanour. Her speech is measured which is a boon for this interviewer who’s writing up the interview long hand.
She’s full of surprises gestating some new possibilities for the theatre. She’s considering running in house workshops based on the team’s skills: Dance, technical capability, set design, and costume design. Emily has a degree in urban dance practice and a masters in historical dance practice. The team want to pull something together to give something back to the theatre community to get the aspirations flowing. “Technical theatre is shutting down in colleges, giving people fewer routes into the theatres (without spending a fortune on university fees)” explains Emily. “We want to offer hands-on technical advice to give people an opportunity, a route into theatre” she says, and then adds with disarming honesty “I’m badly dyslexic so I went the long way round but got there in the end”.
“Theatre now is not so much about getting a degree but about artistic dedication and diversity” she says, “I think that will shine through more than a piece of paper would”. She is conscious that those coming out of university don’t have the experience and that at the current time people are far more likely to get the job when they do have that hands-on experience. Personally, Emily found university a hard process to go though. “Mental health! I got messed up” she says. Her student loan didn’t come through when she needed it so finding a place to live and getting to university put a lot of extra pressure on her. “Meeting deadlines, being pushed to my full potential was very gruelling … HARD” she explains but adds with a grin “but definitely worth it”.
For Emily taking on the role of Artistic Director at Etcetera has been a whirlwind. Before the lock down she could quite happily say that “just getting to be here every day is the best thing so far, enjoying the space and getting to know so many people; I love it here, I’m so passionate about the space.” Now she’s looking toward the future, re-opening the theatre and the upcoming festivals.
There are plans to open two new festivals in October and November; the Oktoberfest and Fright Fest. Sadly, due to the coronavirus closures, bookings have been put on hold until May when Emily expects to have a better idea of when the theatres will re-open. “Fingers crossed it will be September time” she says. She can’t wait to be open again. “We like to look after people here” says Emily and adds with another of her grins “we even bought a new kettle for the dressing room.” A small but thoughtful gesture.
If her new role seems like the pinnacle of achievement, Emily is still looking for more possibilities. She’d like to run her own theatre or maybe help David (the founder of Etcetera theatre) open more theatres. “We love pub theatres; you get the best atmosphere” she asserts. Something that also strikes a chord with her is that “you can walk through the pub and you come here and its totally different, it’s like a different world”.
Etcetera theatre had many outstanding shows lined up which have had to be postponed until later in the year. There are so many exciting possibilities for the theatre that Emily and the team would love to share with colleagues and the theatre going public. In the meantime, we all have to stay safe, and look forward to getting our theatres back in the not too distant future.
One of London’s top 10 theatres for a date in London on Match dot.com
Interview with Artistic Director Pierre and Maud Madlyn (in 2017)
“You still have those few places that are alternative and cool – you can’t go to just any part of London … that doesn’t work anymore. You have to go to specific places rather than areas.”
Maud Madlyn
Maud Madlyn took over as AD of Etcetera theatre in 2014. She started as a volunteer for the London Horror Festival, then started working part time in the office and eventually was offered management of the Etcetera Theatre. Her degree in cultural administration along with her training and experience as an actress prepared her well for the role.
Taking over from Charlotte Chinn and Kate Dawson, meant Maud would need a second person to help her with the workload and it wasn’t long before she recruited brother and musician Pierre:
“Pierre was the only person I trusted to go into business with. I knew Pierre had business skills, he was manager of his own band. There are parallels between our different arts. It’s different but the nitty, gritty, the egos, the amount of work is very similar. Sensibility toward the crowd you work with was a plus.”
Pierre was living in Nancy, (France) giving guitar lessons, touring, and recording. He adds disarmingly honestly that: “I was getting tired of band life, tired of the complicated relationship with my girlfriend”. After running his own band, Pierre found that although the environment was different, different paradigms but essentially, it’s the same. He caustically adds “I don’t have to deal with babies (mainly drummers and bass players). A band is a complicated thing, it’s like having a healthy marriage between three or four people”.
For Pierre, one of the things that makes this theatre special is that “it’s a bit hidden and you get the feeling that it’s something no-one else knows about”. Although it’s slap bang in the middle of Camden High Street, the road is so busy and bustling with tourist that they walk right past The Oxford Arms, without knowing there’s a theatre above. There is also “the intimacy of the space”, as Maud asserts: “It’s one of the smallest pub theatres with just 42 seats, the fact that it’s raked and has comfortable seats …”.
If you aren’t yet convinced of the romance of the theatre, you should be where I’m sitting looking at the long streaming hair and slender physique and that’s just Pierre. Maud is similarly attractive with a well-shaped head framing her lovely face. And … did I mention … they’re French!
Maud and Pierre lived in Philadelphia for some years and so Pierre’s accent is charmingly French Philadelphian whilst Maud has the clarity and eloquence we might expect from a well-trained actor. England is no culture shock for the pair because they’ve travelled a lot and feel comfortable wherever they are. They “adapt quickly, so it’s easy”. Funnily enough Maud is nostalgic about Camden.
“When I first moved to London 7 ½ years ago, I loved Camden. It was edgy, rock and roll. Others would say it was already sanitised and shit. (Pierre interrupts: “We like to swear a lot”). In 7 ½ years it’s gotten worse, the whole sort of edgy scene that I loved in Camden is getting eradicated because of tourists. Venues are shutting down, the Black Cap shut, how alternative was that? Within 24 hours. Even Electric Ballroom … I used to go there nearly every Friday. You still have those few places that are alternative and cool – you can’t go to just any part of London … that doesn’t work any more. You have to go to specific places rather than areas.” Pierre just adds “Make Camden punk again!”
Maud continues: “We don’t benefit from the tourist crowd at all, I don’t see tourists coming in. Every show here is so different with different genres that I don’t think we have recurring audience members, what we’d love to have is locals. Met a friend of a friend lives on James Town Road (around the corner) and she’s been living there for 15 years and she’s never heard of the Etcetera. As soon as she did she’s come here and want to come again”
On the Etcetera website, there is the phrase: ‘As a home is not just a house, a Theatre is not just a space’. Pierre has a laugh about this: “That’s just Bullshit. What it means is that some venues in London treat artists like shit, they’re slow on emails, they undermine you, we really don’t want any of that here. We look out for the people who come here, help them as much as we can. We’re not as corporate as most British people are. Somebody comes up with an idea, we are more likely to find solutions.” Maud adds: “On the other hand we don’t want companies coming into the space and owning it. They can do what they want provided there’s a level of awareness and mindfulness. There are ways to treat the space and the people who work for it as well. We try to help any company but the ones who really put in the extra mile, respect our work as well.”
In a normal week, they have 14 performances, plus matinees, and rehearsals. During Camden Fringe Festival, they have 5 shows a day 7 days a week for four weeks. During Edinburgh previews in July they have 3 shows a day during the week and 4 over the weekend. It’s a lot for just two people to handle. Pierre says: “The job goes from tackling legal stuff to buying toilet paper. Friendly people, people who are friendly to us, it works better. Our main feedback has been that we’re really approachable and human in our way of working.”
One of the crucial bonuses with Etcetera Theatre is that anyone can hire it. Pierre says this “feels fair - I don’t know whether a show is good enough”.
The only time they do curate is Camden Fringe and the Black Box festival in January. Pierre elaborates: “If you want to put it on give it a go. Sometimes it looks shit on paper and its going to be great. We’re keen to keep that going and not put on what we want to see, so any company that wants to put on a show just go for it. We have a lot who return, with the same show or a different one. It’s a great place to try things out. Audiences tend to be supportive because its new work. It’s a piece of fringe theatre at £10 rather than £90 so they are more understanding less unforgiving.” Maud adds: “You’re not here to throw tomatoes at actors but to see something new or support your friend. At the same time, when you’re this close to the action there’s nothing for the actors to hide behind. Its unforgiving so its constructive, a good training ground”.
Whilst Etcetera is mainly a black box space, they are happy to see companies bringing in a set. With two shows a night from different companies this can be tricky. Maud explains how it’s done: “One company booked the space day and night for three weeks for Miss Julie. They completely transformed it; repainted the floor, it looked like an old kitchen, took the curtain down, put shelves on the walls. The company who brought Bonnie and Clyde were even braver. They didn’t rent the entire space for themselves. They brought in bales of hay, huge planks of wood that were spray painted, they recreated a barn – cleared that every night so the next company could come in. It looked incredible. You really got drawn into the elaborate set and it smelt of hay so you could totally imagine being in a barn.”
Pierre is an advocate for less is more: “Since it is a black space, there’s no fussy details anywhere. Whatever you do put in, does stick out more. You’ve got to think about that because it’s the nature of space.” He has a punk rock moment: “Just put a toilet in the middle”.
Maud adds: “Younger companies might get carried away with what they want to do, distort their vision. Because there’s limited storage space, we want to spark the question: what do I genuinely need for this show? ‘Less is more’ can trigger that, that’s the job done for them to very honestly have a think about it.”
With just half an hour between shows a lot of work goes into co-ordinating between the companies, to give the best technical capability, so each can get the most out of it. Their future ambition is to start producing shows at Etcetera, such as Sid (Vicious) by Leon Fleming which transferred to the West End last year after a run here.
In the meantime, bring your lover for a date, or a crowd of mates to this alternative venue. Take your pick between upcoming shows, the Camden festival, Edinburgh previews and Etcetera’s own black box festival. Whatever you see, it’s going to be an experience.
@March 2017 London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd
All Rights Reserved
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre