Riverside Studios Are Back in Business
Cafe now open and tickets available for first stage production Persona
The long awaited reopening of the redeveloped Riverside Studios is finally here.
After being closed for five years, the famous studios, now within a new multi-million pound building with cutting edge facilities, are opening in three phases.
Phase one, Studio 8 Café and Bar and adjacent coffee shop opened this week alongside Sam’s Riverside, a new high-end brasserie from Sam Harriso, pictured below.
A new exhibition by Riverside Artists Group, Riverside @ Riverside, celebrating the group's return to the studios, will also be open from 8am till 10pm from 22 November until 12 January.
These will be followed shortly by the flagship television studio, Studio 1, run by Riverside TV Studios Ltd, which will begin producing broadcasts for local and international audiences lmost immediately.
Then on 23 January, phase two will launch with the world premiere of Persona, on 23 January 2020, a unique theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s iconic film of the same name. This will also see the opening of Studio 3, one of the brand-new theatres within Riverside Studios.
Phase three, launching in March 2020 will see the opening of the final public areas. Studio 2 is a flexible performance space with up to 500 seats, and Studio 5 is a rehearsal room that can also host community events and workshops.
To celebrate their return, the studios are inviting local residents to become the first to glimpse the new state-of-the-art facilities, sample the finest beverages from the kitchen and find out more about what's in store t exclusive behind the scenes welcomes to the new Riverside Studios
The welcome visits are on:
Tuesday 26 November, 6.30pm
Thuesday 5 December, 6.30pm
Tuesday 17 December 6.30pm
Tickets for these are going fast so book your visit here.
Tickets are also on sale now for the world premiere of Persona, on 23 January 2020. A psychological thriller, this new translation of Persona is adapted and directed by Paul Schoolman and stars Alice Krige and Nobuhle Ketelo, accompanied by renowned US musician William Close playing his signature Earth Harp with an original score.
You can book tickets here.
Following Persona will be Love, Loss & Chianti (25 February - 16 May) starring Robert Bathurst and Rebecca Johnson, in a two-part evening pairing the critically acclaimed A Scattering with The Song of Lunch by Costa Book Prize award-winner Christopher Reid. The production is complemented by celebrated cartoonist Charles Peattie’s striking, beautiful and witty animations.
From 18 – 24 May, after her sell-out Tour De Force Liza Pulman Sings Streisand, Studio 3 presents Liza’s brand new show, The Heart Of It. Alongside her band, Liza rediscovers and reimagines timeless classics and lost gems by Randy Newman, Stevie Wonder, Michel Le Grand, Judy Collins and a host of others. An evening designed to both break your heart and make it sing.
Also due to open January are Riverside’s state of the art cinemas. The centre boasts two screens and visitors will enjoy a world-class digital cinematic experience, with films selected by renowned curator Jason Wood, Artistic Director of Film and Culture at HOME in Manchester and Rachel Hayward, Head of Film at HOME.
The film programme will be announced in December, but Jason has promised a broad mix of first-run films, mixed with the best in independent cinema and a range of festivals and seasons that will remain true to the much loved film offering and reputation of the old cinema.
The programme for Studio 2 will be announced soon and will feature work selected and produced by Emily Dobbs who, since her early days working behind the bar at the old Riverside, has gone on to become an acclaimed producer, most recently having presented Revolver in the West End. She will work on a year-long season of theatre at Riverside.
The new Riverside Studios boasts multiple performance, rehearsal and broadcast spaces which will each contribute to its ongoing story by presenting exhibitions, independent film and theatre from both established and emerging voices.
The cultural hub continues a proud tradition that started when it first opened as a film studio in the 1930s, then as one of the original BBC TV Studios in the 1950s, where after it developed a worldwide reputation for presenting innovative art and became a home for some of the leading names in the theatre, television and film industries.
For the first time in its 86 year history, the public can now take advantage of its unique position on the Thames beside Hammersmith Bridge, with all the building’s public facilities now enjoying magnificent views of the river. The new public walkway also allows the public to walk beside it from Hammersmith Bridge to Putney.
Artistic Director William Burdett-Coutts said: "To see Riverside Studios reopen its doors to the public is the culmination of a dream. Whilst the old building held an extremely fond place in the hearts of people across the arts, television and film worlds it had all the benefits and problems of a 'found space'. Essentially it began life as a Victorian factory and through a number of different incarnations played a part in all these different worlds.
" Today the new building combines all these interests into a fantastic new public facility which can realise the potential for this incredible site in London. The artists that have passed through the building are legendary and we look forward to welcoming many more in future and making this a place the public feel they can enjoy and cherish."
PERSONA
RIVERSIDE STUDIOS, Studio 3 101 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9BN
Dates: 21 January - 23 February 2020
Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 3.00pm
Press performances: Tuesday 28 January at 7.30pm Wednesday 29 January at 7.30pm Thursday 30 January at 7.30pm
Prices: £40, £30, £12.50 - no booking fee concessions Seniors/Unwaged/ Disabled
Box office: 020 8237 1010, or book online.
November 21, 2019