BRIXTON CALLING Will Return to Southwark Playhouse Borough

Brixton Calling by writer Alex Urwin will return to the London stage in January 2027. Originating producers Kick It Anywhere are now joined by Aria Entertainment's Katy Lipson (the multi-award-winning producer behind two-time Olivier Award-winning hit KENREX), and new co-producer Guy James Theatrical. The play opens from 22 January to 13 March 2027. Press Night is on 27 January 2027 at 7pm.

Acclaimed director Bronagh Lagan (Flowers for Mrs Harris, Cruise) returns to helm this amplified vision which will be bigger, bolder, and significantly louder, ready to blow the roof off the Large auditorium at Southwark Playhouse Borough. This new staging follows a sell-out run where the play was crowned with the most wins of any single production at the 2026 Off West End Awards, clean-sweeping Best Overall Production, Best Lighting Design, and Best Sound and Music Design; a WhatsOnStage Award nomination, nine Fringe Theatre Awards, and an Ilfeld Prize for Playwriting shortlisting.

Inspired by Simon Parkes' bestselling memoir Live at the Brixton Academy, Brixton Calling is a wild, deeply personal, and remarkable true story of rock 'n' roll survival. In 1983, Parkes was a 23-year-old outsider who bought a derelict Brixton cinema for just £1 and called it The Brixton Academy. Ten years later, he had transformed it into the world-famous music venue that changed British music forever.    

Reprising their powerhouse roles, for which they won Off West End Awards for Best Sound and Music, are actor-musicians Max Runham (Mother Courage and Her Children, Shakespeare's Globe) and Tendai Humphrey Sitima (A Strange Loop, Barbican/West End). Trading lightning-fast dialogue while seamlessly shredding on guitars, the pair capture the true riotous spirit of the music scene. Their performance honours the deep bond between Simon Parkes and Johnny Lawes, the kindred spirits who built the iconic South London venue from the ground up. Accompanying the duo on stage is stellar musician Nadine Lee (Self Esteem, Lizzo, Stormzy, National Theatre's Wuthering Heights). Lee's addition injects a surge of live gig energy blurring the line between theatre and a raw concert experience.

Simon Parkes says: “Seeing my life and the wild history of the Brixton Academy explode onto the stage during the 2025 run was incredibly surreal. As someone who also navigates the world with one arm, seeing Max bring that same physical reality to the stage adds an undeniable level of authenticity. He creates an instant, powerful connection to the story. Both Max and Tendai are spectacular and I can't wait to see this larger, louder version blow audiences away.”

Music is the heartbeat of this story. Driven by an electrifying live soundtrack, this experience celebrates Brixton Academy's sonic history, blasting out seminal hits from The Clash, Blondie, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Fela Kuti, Billy Ocean, and The Prodigy. To recreate the epic scale of the legendary venue, the production enlists West End maestro Sean Green (Sylvia, Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), MJ the Musical, Get Up Stand Up!) as musical supervisor.

Katy Lipson (KENREX at Southwark Playhouse Borough, The Other Palace, and Off-Broadway, as well as the Olivier-nominated Cruise at the Duchess Theatre) who reunites with Cruise director Bronagh Lagan on this production, adds: “I was completely struck by the raw, kinetic energy of the original run produced by Alex and Kick It Anywhere. This new production offers the perfect opportunity to bring the show to a grander canvas. By upscaling Brixton Calling to Southwark's The  Large auditorium, we are giving this incredible team the space to amplify everything that made it a hit. It's exactly the kind of bold, high-octane theatre we pride ourselves on championing.”