The Cochrane Theatre, previously known as the Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, was a receiving and producing theatre situated in
Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its root ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, that opened in 1964.
It is now used for television filming.
History
The theatre opened in 1963 and was named after its founder,
Jeannetta Cochrane, who was a theatre practitioner specialising in costume and scenery design at the
Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and ...
, now part of the
University of the Arts London. Through her persistence, Cochrane persuaded the
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
to build a theatre attached to the school that could be used as a practice space. The theatre has a traditional
proscenium arch
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
and
fly tower
A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of rope lines, blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components suc ...
consisting of 41 counterweight flying bars, orchestra pit and a fully functioning paint frame (a rarity in London theatres).
From 1991 to 1995,
had its home at the Cochrane Theatre.
The Cochrane closed in January 2012 when Central St Martin's moved to a new site near
King's Cross (unifying what had been disparate locations for different parts of the college), with the new venue having its own theatre, the
Platform Theatre.
Its owners since 2011, Grange Hotels, are set to demolish the building.
Television productions
In June 2015
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
filmed a ''
TFI Friday
''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...
'' special at the theatre and a series of ten shows were produced live in October through December 2015.
Cochrane Theatre was chosen for the new series as the original location of
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.
Having closed for redevelopment i ...
where the show was filmed has been demolished and is being redeveloped, due for completion in autumn 2017.
ITV's late night chat show ''
The Nightly Show'' was filmed at the Cochrane Theatre in 2017.
Channel 5's ''Do the Right Thing'' with
and
Ruth Langsford
Ruth Wendy Holmes (née; Langsford; born 17 March 1960) is an English television presenter. She has presented various television shows, including '' This Morning'' (1999–present) in which she is the longest serving presenter, '' Gift Wrapped ...
was filmed at the Cochrane Theatre in 2019.
References
Theatres in the London Borough of Camden
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