THEATRE PROFILE

The Rosemary Branch

Theatre. Pub. Kitchen.

2 Shepperton Road

London, N1 3DT

Website: https://www.rosemarybranchtheatre.co.uk/

IN A NUTSHELL

A 60-seat theatre venue on the border of Islington and Hackney affectionately known as The Rosie, boasting comfortable raked seating with excellent sightlines. Feminist, LGBT+ and family friendly, it’s shows are to be experienced as they offer something a little different.

LOCATION

Just set back from Regent’s Canal on the border of Islington and Hackney.

The nearest tube and train stations:

Within 10 minutes’ walk Essex Road (Great Northern)

Within 15 minutes’ walk Haggerston (Overground, Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee and within 20 minutes’ walk Old Street (Northern line, Great Northern) and Angel (Northern line)

Bus: There are many bus routes with stops minutes from the venue, including the 21, 76 and 141 right on our corner.

PRODUCTIONS

The theatre hosts all types of performance and community experiences - theatre, comedy, live music, improv, puppetry, family shows, drag, cabaret, podcasts, burlesque and workshops.

THE PUB

Beautiful historic pub which is dog and baby friendly. Just set back from the Regent’s Canal, it offers delicious food (with ingredients sourced from as close to home as possible, and always with the impact on the planet in mind), a wide range of drinking options (including nine alcohol free beers), an award-winning theatre and an opulent function room upstairs.

VALUE ADDED

For audiences: A unique experience

For theatre makers: To recognize disparity in the performing arts in not only gender, but race - the theatre will be offering free rehearsal space to People of the Global Majority into 2022.

DID YOU KNOW

The Rosemary Branch building dates from the Victorian period when it was renowned for its music hall.

The Rosemary Branch is perhaps the only pub theatre to have a ‘Royal Box’, seating two, at the back of the auditorium.

In 1986 the upstairs of the Rosemary Branch was converted into a theatre.

In 1996 Cecilia Darker and Cleo Sylvestre became joint Artistic Directors, followed by Genevieve Taricco and Scarlett Plouviez Comnas who took over in 2016.

After running Rosemary Branch Theatre for almost 20 years, Cleo Sylvestre is back to tread the boards and rock the house with her live band as she shares tales of recording with The Rolling Stones, hanging out with Jimmy Page and Joan Crawford.

De Beauvoir actor and singer Cleo Sylvestre MBE (who was joint Artistic Director of the venue for 20 years) was the first black woman ever to play a leading role at the National Theatre.   She stopped singing for nearly 60 years after having made a record with the then unknown Rolling Stones, friendships with Roger Daltry and Jimmy Page.  In her acting career she worked with Ken Loach and Joan Crawford.

Current Artistic Director, Laura Killeen took over in September 2021.

ARCHIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE RECENTLY APPOINTED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LAURA KILLEEN

by Heather Jeffery

November 2021

Recently appointed Artistic Director, Laura Killeen is proud to be the fifth woman to direct the Rosemary Branch Theatre. She follows Cecilia Darker and Cleo Sylvestre who were joint Artistic Directors for 20 years and Genevieve Taricco and Scarlett Plouviez Comnas who took over in 2016. In honour of this extraordinary achievement Killeen opened the theatre with a season celebrating 25 years of female leadership with women led creatives and companies. 

 The theatre, affectionately known as The Rosie, re-opened after 18 months of closure due to the pandemic. It followed the government guidelines ‘rule of six’ with cabaret style tables and a much-reduced seating capacity. The theatre is now back to raked seating for up to sixty people. Killeen aims to be as diverse in her programming as possible: “A puppet festival one week, to drag cabaret, stand-up to children’s events, one person shows to improv and podcasts.” Her programming will build on recent years, with unique shows unlikely to be seen elsewhere.  She is also currently offering free rehearsal space to People of the Global Majority which will continue into 2022. “I am mindful of the responsibility I hold as a platform for voices and theatre companies” says Killeen. “It can often be very intimidating for people, especially having had our doors locked for so long, so we should open them up to as many people as possible.”

The immensely talented Killeen (see bio at the bottom of the page) is no stranger to the theatre. She is a member of Degenerate Fox Theatre who have been performing their show The Dirty Thirty at The Rosie since 2017.  During lockdown Degenerate Fox went online making the show accessible to everyone. “It was wonderful to be able to reach single parent families, people who don’t live in London and others with access needs” says Killeen. Their plan is to continue to stream the show and reach more people. “Why should Edinburgh be the only opportunity for a global audience?” says Killeen.

“We’ve been going through a real period of experimentation at the theatre, we’ve learnt so many things already from the last 18 months and how to adapt those lessons” says Killeen. “Our first season is very much wanting to experiment to see how we can adapt to the space and see how things work.” She has not made a curative aesthetic for the theatre or a judgement yet because she needs to learn from the theatre and the pub theatre scene in general. “There’s no point doing what everyone else is doing because that space is already occupied” says Killeen.

The theatre is on the border between Hackney and Islington. Killeen herself grew up in Northeast London. “Hackney is such a fast-changing, incredible borough and I’m just getting to know Islington … every kind of person lives in this area”.  She notes that in the pub there are “lots of prams and buggies and dogs, lots of young families.” It is also an LGBT+ welcoming space. They had a drag queen telling stories and singing songs about diversity for children a couple of weeks ago which sold out. “It was a lovely family event that offered something different” adds Killeen. 

Killeen is conscious that going to the theatre “can become a formative experience” no matter what the genre might be. For example, Killeen is a massive fan of puppet theatre having come across this art form in New York. One show that particularly impressed her was the La Mama Puppet Slam in NY. “Only just got a ticket as it was a sold-out house” she explains. She was impressed with the sheer variety of puppetry and that the show was such an emotionally moving experience for all ages. 

Family shows will be something of interest to this family friendly pub.  “Sunday afternoon roast is banged out for family and friends” says Killeen. “Silly pumpkins lined up on the mantelpiece at Halloween, the landlord has a four-month-old baby,” she continues, “it really feels like a family at Rosemary Branch, it’s such a warm welcoming space.” Looking forward to 2022 she believes that there is potential for parent and baby comedy during the day using the pub as a performance space. “Bring the pram, have it with you” she says.

Killeen really wants to explore the full potential of the venue. It echoes her own experience of working Off-Broadway in her twenties, “doing wild things on stage in the early 2010s”.  One possibility is to have an exchange of shows. The recent online shows of The Dirty Thirty gained a big audience from New York. It’s no surprise because it’s where the concept for the show first emerged. Known as Neo-Futurism it has some basic rules. “When I’m on stage I’m always Laura; if I give an opinion, it’s my opinion, it’s my own lived experience and we are here in Rosemary Branch” explains Killeen, “if you see it happening it’s really happening.”

Neo Futurism started in Chicago over 30 years ago before it caught on in New York. About a decade ago a couple of NY Neo-Futurists came over to the UK and started the same kind of company, holding auditions in 2016. Degenerate Fox started performing in 2017.

It is one of the most sustainable, fresh and current shows on the circuit which also has an outreach programme of education and community workshops. Interestingly there is little carbon footprint to the show as they are making it themselves. “The way we make theatre you can do it with anything, you don’t need a set or lighting, there’s no artifice, there’s no illusion” explains Killeen, “there’s little waste there, it's self-sustaining.”

Following her opening season Killeen is expecting a “fantastic pantomime, a little late but we will have Christmas shows and musicals coming up in 2022”.  There is also space for having longer runs every now and then “maybe a two-act play”. She is seeing more theatre and “having a lovely time”. “It feels like I’m at the Edinburgh festival which is wonderful and it’s not just about programming shows but also who you meet; the production team and what they’re up to.”  She is also very lucky because the Rosemary Branch is approached a lot, with ideas and prospective shows. They have a show this month called NOT OUR PLAY. The audience writes the script just before the show and it is then performed without any edits. “It’s an interesting experiment in what should be on our stages” says Killeen. “People could write quite inflammatory things, who knows what they’ll say, there is so much potential there by giving the power to the audience.”

Personally, Killeen has a very broad experience of theatre in quite a short space of time. She comes across as being an extremely bright and a high energy person, who still finds time to write, direct and perform. “I think being in the weeds with everyone learning from doing, as well as seeing, is a very important part of being Artistic Director” says Killeen. She will continue creating work in her own right and is currently directing a work in progress musical, Jeezus, whilst also taking advantage of touring opportunities for Degenerate Fox.

“The Rosie does feel a bit like my home as well” says Killeen, “I’ve done my time in New York, but I studied in London, create in London and have met so many creatives here. I’m grateful to have an opportunity to give them a platform … it’s like giving something back to the community in my city.”

 Laura Killeen was chatting with Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine