UPDATE – This article was written before the latest COVID restrictions were applied to London. It’s still an interesting venue, and the events may take place later, so leaving the article as is.
You’ve probably walked past the locked doors of this grand looking building many times, but over the next couple of weeks, it will be opening its doors to let people inside.
The Welsh Chapel was built in 1888 by James Cubitt on Charing Cross Road, and was a busy place of worship up to the 1950s, when urban populations drifted to the suburbs. In the 1980s it became the Limelight nightclub, then an Australian themed pub, and eventually a squat.
It is now being restored for use as an arts centre.
At the moment, the stripped-back interior with all the old paint removed and some of the stonework repaired is in that curiously delightful stage that is reminiscent of Wilton’s Music Hall.
In the meantime, in the week running up to Christmas, there will be a number of theatre performances inside the Welsh Chapel, opening the central space to the public for the first time in over a decade.
All tickets cost from £15, with seating limited to 100 people.
Details are here.
JOE STILGOE
18 December (7&9pm)
Joe Stilgoe is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and songwriter, whose live shows feature virtuosic musicianship and breathtaking theatricality, combining on the spot improvisation with the quickest of wits.
THE OTHER GUYS
19 December (7pm)
Relive the magic of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Starring Ashley Stillburn (Les Miserables), Louis Maskell (The Grinning Man), Danny Whitehead (Phantom of the Opera) & Joe Bishop (Jersey Boys)
RACHAEL & GEORGE
20 December (7pm)
Join West End stars Rachael Wooding and Olivier award winning George Maguire in an intimate evening of cool covers, fresh original music and possibly a Christmas tune or two
CABARET WHORE
19 December (9pm)
Packed with hilarious original songs, bitingly funny stories and lightning quick-changes. These fantastic character creations have delighted audiences around the globe from Edinburgh to London, New York to Berlin
OPERA UNDONE
21 December (7&9pm)
Join the Kings Head Theatre’s Olivier Award nominated singers for a special concert performance of opera’s most celebrated classic; a wintry treat guaranteed to delight connoisseurs and newcomers alike.
YES QUEENS
23 December (7pm)
The West End’s first female-led improvised comedy night. Cast includes Olivier Award winner Pippa Evans, multiple BAFTA winning Kayleigh Llewellyn (In My Skin BBC), Monica Gaga, Maria Peters and Helen Foster.
I remember that it was a very interesting place to get bladdered in (I was very familiar with it in its incarnationas a Walkabout pub in the early 2000s).