Kitsch and quiche first stop for ever-changing comedy club The New Red Lion Theatre
Published: 22 October, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER
THEATREGOERS will be able to step 40 years back in time with the opening of a “retro chic” 70s-themed comedy club in the Angel area of Islington.
The New Red Lion Theatre in City Road will be decked out in “a kaleidoscope of kitsch” from the much-maligned decade with “green drapes and little red candles” among notable features, said spokesman for the venture Will Young.
And the bar menu will include such 1970s staples as prawn cocktails, steak and chips, Black Forest gateaux and Liebfraumilch.
The curtain goes up on Monday, October 25, with a performance of a comic play about a clown’s life by Tacit Theatre, Scaramouche Jones.
The 170s theme will last for one season and will change around every four months, with a recreation of a traditional British seaside resort proposed for the venue’s next manifestation.
Will Young said: “We are thrilled to introduce Islington to a new kind of performance space which will be totally transformed every season.”
Other acts promised for the 70s season include Pappy’s comedy sketch team and stand-ups Richard Herring, Imran Yusuf, Abandoman and Sara Pascoe.
The New Red Lion Theatre is an offshoot of the Old Red Lion Theatre, an established venue in nearby St John Street.
It will be housed in what used to be called The Offside Bar.