New Cooperative Arts Centre Opens on Talgarth Road
Offering subsided studio spaces and workshops open to all
The Lilla Huset at 191 Talgarth Road. Picture: Google Streetview
June 3, 2024
A new arts centre, offering subsidised studio spaces and ‘pay what you can’ workshops open to all has launched on Hammersmith’s Talgarth Road.
A ‘democratic collective of collaborators’ called Scrum Theatre has taken over the Lilla Huset at 191 Talgarth Road, which was formerly home to Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s archives until they were moved to Hammersmith Library in 2023.
Scrum Theatre is a charity which says it takes over empty commercial spaces and transforms them into pop-up arts hubs, with free training, subsidised rehearsal spaces and performance venues for emerging theatre makers, at a time of crisis for the arts.
It is transforming the building, on the south side of Talgarth Road east of the flyover, to create three separate studios, two of which have their own dance floors. These can be hired commercially for £300 to £400 per day but Scrum Theatre says, “The spaces at Scrum Studios exist with the aim of creating a diverse artistic community. Subsidised prices are offered for individual artists, small groups, small charities and small theatre companies."
The cooperative, saying it aims to sow the seeds of future audiences and makers, is also running a daily programme of workshops in the centre. These are open to everyone on a ‘pay what you can’ basis, with free tickets available for every session.
The varied range of subjects include Clownfit with Lecoq-trained clown Claire Parry; Reigning Men: A Cabaret Course for Kings; Movement Research Lab with Jannick Moth; The Craft of Traditional Storytelling with Hannah Moore and The Actor in Space: A Conversation with Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod. A masterclass with actor and director Adrian Lester has already sold out.
You can find out more about these and other workshops and book a place here.
Scrum Theatre is also asking local businesses in Hammersmith to become involved in the venture. Suggestions include donating unwanted office furniture or tech, or an item on the venue’s set-up list – whether a media suite, a script library, musical instruments or accessibility interventions. For more information, contact Lucie at co-leads@scrumtheatre.co.uk.
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