The story of Theatre N16: one small theatre’s perpetual battle with gentrification
It’s possibly the most unlikely location, but it’s nonetheless home to a throbbing, buzzing, electric hub of creativity and passion. In the heart of Tottenham Hale, just a stone’s throw from KFC and Pizza Hut, is Theatre N16: a vibrant performance space dedicated to enabling emerging artists to develop, hone and showcase their work.
Upon entry, visitors are greeted by the ‘foyer’: a tent-like structure that would belong both at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival and in a Moroccan riad. The lamplights criss-crossing overhead, the delightfully inviting, multi-coloured blankets and cushions strewn casually over rough wood benches and the array of carpets covering the floor all seemed designed to make you feel at home before you’ve even set foot in the theatre itself. It’s a far remove from your average fringe theatre experience, and that’s before you’ve even seen a show.
This welcoming atmosphere goes right to the heart of the theatre’s ethos. Theatre N16 has welcomed over 200 theatre companies over the last three years, giving them that crucial chance to showcase their work — without a hire fee. This is a rare asset for struggling performance artists stuck in the vicious cycle of needing to demonstrate what they can do, yet being unable to afford the steep hire fees charged by most fringe theatres as standard: a cycle that N16 has ended for thousands of budding creatives.
But now it’s being forced to close. For the third time. In three years.
Theatre N16 began in Stoke Newington, but had to move after only a few months when the venue’s management changed hands. It took up residence at The Bedford pub in Balham for nearly two and a half years before plans were announced to redevelop the space. And now, after only eight months at The Styx in Tottenham Hale, the team have been told the venue is being pulled down in favour of a new development.
Having passed through the aforementioned initial welcome space, audiences can then enter the theatre itself, which is a small black box studio. With a rough capacity of 80 seats, it ensures a personal, intimate experience for the audience whilst also having an unusually large performance space. Executive Director Jamie Eastlake passionately describes N16 as a “playground” for creatives, and the utilitarian space, with its black ceiling, walls and floor — combined with the movable seats, which allow flexibility — does seem to suggest to artists that anything is possible. When discussing what sort of work N16 tends to showcase, Eastlake’s enthusiasm is tangible.
“A lot of stuff here has always been about developing a piece, or actors tuning their craft. It’s about tuning, it’s about rawness and about being a springboard.” This philanthropic approach results in a wonderfully mixed, eclectic programme of shows, and Eastlake certainly isn’t short of examples. Currently upcoming is The Six Twenty’s Fans: ‘an eclectic mix of stories told through raucous live music, stand-up comedy and verbatim theatre’. Previous shows include Niv Patel’s one-man show, Knock Knock — ‘a well–crafted account of a mother’s love and care for her son from babyhood to manhood’— and Foxglove Theatre’s I Am Turpin: ‘a ground-breaking piece of immersive historical drama’. The list goes on; a list comprised of talented emerging artists in desperate need of a leg-up into the industry. A leg-up that N16 took pride and pleasure in providing.
Eastlake isn’t bitter, though. He observes, philosophically, that N16 has always been more of an idea than an actual building; and, while unsure about his personal future involvement, he doesn’t want it to cease to exist altogether.
“I do agree that N16 has to exist somewhere. Because where would those 200 companies have gone? There isn’t that space for them…so it has to exist in some form. Does it pop up? Does it…” He stops. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it’ll become.”
Where performance spaces are concerned, forced closures always seem like an unnecessarily cruel blow. But in N16’s case, it’s less of a blow than a punch to the gut. As if it wasn’t bad luck enough to have to close three times in as many years, N16 is exceptional in its aim to nurture emerging artists in an industry that can feel unwelcoming at best. Let’s just hope those artists can find an alternative space that will provide that unique support — at least before gentrification beats them to it.
