Ringing the Changes
Jacksons Lane arts centre in London has come back from the brink of closure with a bold and adventurous autumn programme featuring German wheelers, acrobatic troupes, burlesque and puppetry. Nuala Calvi speaks to its artistic director Adrian Berry
Highgate audiences had an eye-opener earlier this year when their local arts centre – previously known for its community-minded programme of disability arts and dance – hosted nipple tassel-shaking burlesque performers.
It hasn’t been the only hint recently that something is afoot at Jacksons Lane. Aerialists and acrobats have been increasingly sneaking into shows, while Studio One is currently full of German wheel specialists, whizzing around in rehearsal.
This autumn, artistic director Adrian Berry finally shows his hand, with the launch of a programme that makes clear his intention to reinvent Jacksons Lane as a home for cuttingedge visual theatre and new circus.
“We’re really setting out our stall,” says Berry, who was previously artistic programmer at the venue, but took over the reins a few months ago.
“We’re saying we’re not just an arts centre anymore and we’re not just an empty vessel taking touring work. Not everyone’s going to be happy with the changes, but Battersea Arts Centre went though the same thing years ago and there had to be some casualties.”
Roll up, roll up companies such as Sugar Beast Circus, whose members have previously been seen riding around club cum arts venue Shunt on tricycles dressed as bears and recently had a residency at the Roundhouse. Its double bill at Jacksons Lane included a site-specific promenade piece inspired by 19thcentury menagerie shows that takes place inside a series of mini-big tops and fuses dance theatre, circus, animation and installation.
“The Roundhouse was too big for them to put this work on, so we’re kind of like the in-between bit – maybe one day they’ll be able to fill the Roundhouse, but now they can come here,” says Berry, who’s on the look out for companies who use circus skills to tell stories that work in a theatre setting.
“New circus is still an emerging art form and there are a lot of young companies now coming out of places like Circus Space and Circomedia, but where do they go next?” he asks. “If you’re a new writer you can go to the Bush or the Royal Court. We’re saying, come and work here – we’ll give you the space.”
Jacksons Lane has plenty of it, including one of the biggest dance studios in London – Michael Flatley rehearsed River Dance here – which has proved especially useful for the aforementioned German wheelers. The company, Acrojou Circus Theatre, are world leaders in its unusual art form and has been developing its new show Wake here, to premiere in November. It’s an exploration of “loss, awakening and finding stillness” – but using a giant wheel.
“It’s a bit like a big hamster wheel, but they can do beautiful things on it and it’s very balletic and graceful,” explains Berry. “They need a lot of length and width for it – because we’re in a converted church, we’re the perfect space. We’ve also got a lot of height, which means we’re good for aerial work.”
Below: Sugar Beast Circus' double bill at Jacksons Lane included a site-specific promenade piece
Accordingly, Berry has installed acrobatic troupe So & So Circus Theatre as Jacksons Lane’s first ever resident artists. Its show The Hot Dots, running in November, has been developed here and is a story about the breakdown of a relationship, set in the glittering twenties. It will also be making an appearance in this year’s Christmas show, Cinderella – as will a cabaret magician.
Meanwhile, there’ll be more nipple tassels for the local papers to get their knickers in a twist about, with a cabaret night curated by Finger in the Pie, whose shows at Madame JoJo’s in Soho have premiered some of the best new burlesque acts around and whose cabaret version of Sweeney Todd returns to Jacksons Lane following a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. And there’ll be a strong emphasis on alternative puppetry, with leading companies such as Faulty Optic and Pickled Image on the programme.
The venue certainly has a whole new lease of life – and spirit of adventure – which is all the more welcome considering that less than a year ago its future looked uncertain after it had been shut for 12 months following the collapse of its roof and faced the threat of funding being withdrawn.
“It was a difficult time, but it’s been good in some ways,” says Berry. “It gave us time to go away and think about what we wanted the venue to be. We’d been stuck in the eighties for a while, but now we’re looking at being a really 21st-century arts centre.”
