Nick Giles Announces Final Season as Director of Shoreditch Town Hall

Nick Giles today announces his final season as Director of Shoreditch Town Hall which features brand new work from some of the UK's most cutting-edge artists, returning productions from regular Shoreditch Town Hall collaborators and the continued expansion of both the venue's music programme and its local community engagement. Last week Giles announced he would be stepping down at the end of March 2017 after five and a half years leading the organisation.

Following the successful run of Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) in December 2015, Kneehigh returns to Shoreditch Town Hall this Christmas with its new adaptation of Günter Grass's novel The Tin Drum. Created by the same team as Dead Dog in a Suitcase (writer Carl Grose, composer Charles Hazlewood and director Mike Shepherd), the production runs from 5 - 23 December in the Assembly Hall. The season also sees brand new work from Idiot Child who come to Shoreditch Town Hall for the first time with What If the plane falls out of the sky?, Penned in the Margins with Fair Field and a new production for children and young people, The Boy, the Bees and the Blizzard, presented by Kazzum. The Town Hall also presents an exciting weekender with Dance Umbrella in October, of which further details shall be announced in May.

There are appearances from several companies that have featured regularly during Giles' tenure - in May, the Council Chamber hosts runs of TOOT's Focus Group* and Greg Wohead's Comeback Special, and Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari with AK/DK return to The Ditch basement spaces with margate/dreamland.

Over the last five and half years of Giles' leadership, Shoreditch Town Hall has become an important part of local Hackney life and in April, it ventures out into the community with One Tenth Human & China Plate's interactive show for young people We're Stuck!, following its sell-out run in March 2016. The show runs from 12 - 15 April in The Ditch before being transported by the Town Hall to The Edge, one of Young Hackney's Youth Hubs, from 19 - 22 April. The Town Hall will also, alongside its regular programme of Town Hall Tea Dances and workshop activity, present new monthly tours of the building led by Crouch End Walks.

Alongside the theatre programme, the season also includes a wide breadth of musical acts including performances from the Royal Academy of Music and Kandace Springs, as well as the annual ARGComFest, a packed weekend of Edinburgh comedy previews, in July.

For full details of the season, please see the listings below.

Nick Giles said today, "This season brings together an eclectic mix of adventurous artists, new performance, music and comedy. I am particularly happy to welcome back regular collaborators, such as Kneehigh and Greg Wohead, as well as new artists such as Idiot Child and Dance Umbrella - all creating surprising and transformational experiences. This has been my ambition from the start: bringing the building to life with work made for, inspired by, or at home in our unique spaces."

LISTINGS

Shoreditch Town Hall & Swing Dance UK

SWING INTO SPRING FEATURING SIMON COOMBE'S HOT SIX

Fri 7 Apr, 7pm doors; 7.45pm Beginners' Lindy Hop Dance Class; 8.30pm - 12am DJs and live music

Assembly Hall

£10.00 (advance); £12.00 (on the door)

Shoreditch Town Hall

BEGINNERS' DANCE CLASS

Mon 10 Apr, 15 May, 19 June, 11 Sep& 30 Oct, 12pm - 1pm

Assembly Hall

£2

Shoreditch Town Hall

TOWN HALL TEA DANCE

Mon 10 Apr, 15 May, 19 June, 11 Sep & 30 Oct, 1.30pm - 4.30pm

Assembly Hall

£5.00 (advance); £6.00 (on the door)

One Tenth Human & China Plate

WE'RE STUCK!

Commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall

Wed 12 Apr - Sat 15 Apr in The Ditch, at Shoreditch Town Hall

Wed 12 Apr - Thu 13 Apr, 10.30am & 1.30pm; Fri 14 Apr, 10.30am, 1.30pm & 4pm; Sat 15 Apr, 11am
Wed 19 Apr -Sat 22 Apr at The Edge, 7 Woodbury Grove, N4 1SN

Wed 19 Apr - Fri 21 Apr, 4pm; Sat 22 Apr, 10.30am & 1.30pm

(Schools performances: Wed 19 Apr - Thu 20 Apr, 1.30pm; Fri 21 Apr, 10.30am & 1.30pm)
£12.00 (adult); £10.00 (children); £8.00 (schools)

Crouch End Walks

SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL TOUR

Sat 29 Apr, 27 May & 24 June, 11am - 12pm

£6.50

The Cass, London Met

DEN

Thu 4 - Sat 6 May, 7pm, 7.45pm & 8.30pm

The Ditch

£10 (full price); £5 (concessions) (on sale: Mon 13 Mar)

KANDACE SPRINGS

Presented by Serious in association with Kennedy Street & Byron Orme

Sat 6 May, 7pm (doors), 8pm (start)

Assembly Hall

£25

TOOT

FOCUS GROUP*

Fri 12 & Sat 13 May, 7.30pm

Council Chamber

£12.50

Idiot Child

WHAT IF THE PLANE FALLS OUT OF THE SKY?

Wed 17 May - Sat 20 May, 7.30pm

The Ditch

£11

Greg Wohead

COMEBACK SPECIAL

Commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall

Wed 17 May - Sat 20 May, 7.45pm

Council Chamber

£12.50 (save £5 if booked with Nigel & Louise's margate/dreamland on the same night)

Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari with AK/DK

MARGATE/DREAMLAND

Fri 19 May, 9pm & Sat 20 May, 6pm & 9pm

The Ditch

£12.50 (save £5 if booked with Greg Wohead's Comeback Special on the same night)

Harry Clayton-Wright

SEX EDUCATION

Fri 2 June, 8pm

The Ditch

£10

Royal Academy of Music

THE THREEPENNY OPERA

Thu 15 June - Sat 17 June, 7pm (2.30pm matinee on Sat 17 June)

Assembly Hall

£7 - £20

Royal Academy of Music in association with Shoreditch Town Hall

THE ART OF CHOAS

A series of site-specific events including new work for voice and ensemble, cabaret, sound installations and animation

Thu 15 - Sat 17 June, various times

The Ditch

£5

Theatre Re

FROM ACTOR TO MIME (WORKSHOP)

Mon 19 - Fri 23 June, 10am - 5pm each day

Large Committee Room

£200

ARGCOMFEST 2017

Sat 1 - Sun 2 July, 12.30pm - 10.30pm each day

The Ditch & Committee Rooms

£TBC (on sale: Fri 31 Mar)

Penned in the Margins

FAIR FIELD

Commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall

Fri 7 July, 7pm & 8.30pm

Sat 8 July, 5pm, 7.30pm & 9pm

The Ditch

£TBC (on sale: TBC)

Simon Jones in collaboration with Upstart

MARCO

Sun 30 July, 7.30pm

The Ditch

£10

Upstart & Shoreditch Town Hall

DARE 2017: THE FUTURE STARTS NOW

A festival of playful and inventive new performance

Fri 29 Sep, from 7pm

Sat 30 Sep, from 2pm

The Ditch

£8 (Fri); £11 (Sat)

Kazzum

THE BOY, THE BEES AND THE BLIZZARD

Commissioned by Shoreditch Town Hall

Wed 8 - Sat 18 Nov, various times

The Ditch

£TBC (on sale: Thu 1 June)

Kneehigh with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse

THE TIN DRUM

Tue 5 Dec - Sat 23 Dec, 7.30pm; Wed & Sat, 2.30pm (except 6 Dec)

Assembly Hall

£TBC (on sale: Thu 1 June)

About Shoreditch Town Hall
Over the past five years, Shoreditch Town Hall has established itself as vital, non-traditional arts and live events space on the London cultural map: a unique home for original and adventurous arts and artists from across the world, and a flagship venue for Hackney. With a focus on emerging talent and site-responsive performance, the building has become a vibrant home for original and ambitious theatre and performance, welcoming 27,000 audiences and supporting up to 100 artists and 8 new commissions every year.

Built in 1865 and occupying a huge 46,500 sq ft, Shoreditch Town Hall was for over 100 years one of the grandest Vestry Halls in the city. It ceased to be a home for local government during the 1960s and since 2005 has been a fully independent venue. From the magnificent Victorian grandeur of the Assembly Hall and Council Chamber to the warren of untouched, atmospheric basement spaces the building includes eight performance spaces ranging from 40 to 800 capacity.

Shoreditch Town Hall has never received revenue funding, supporting on average 90% (£350,000) of its arts and community programme annually through earned income, supplemented by smaller project grants. Since 2012 it has also raised and invested £2m to transform the building's in-house audience and production facilities, bringing back to full use its 750 capacity Assembly Hall - the largest purpose built auditorium in Shoreditch - as a public space, as well as installing two lifts to significantly improve access.

The artistic programme at Shoreditch Town Hall is made possible by the generous support of Old Possums Practical Trust, The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation & Arts Council England.

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