Building works at Jacksons Lane are currently well underway and on schedule for a mid-September re-opening. Artistic Director Adrian Berry and Executive Director Monique Deletant have been determined that closure (since November 2020) did not mean continued engagement with artists and the community would cease. Creating a year-round programme that encompasses the best in contemporary performance, arts participation, cultural education and outreach work for both its community and the sector as a whole has been a continued priority whilst the redevelopment of the building and its facilities continues apace in order to match Jacksons Lane’s ambition and vision for the future.
Jacksons Lane has an international reputation for Circus and its support for artists has not wavered during closure. In March this year they launched Arts Council supported funding scheme Hangwire where artists received cash awards and residency space to develop innovative new work in the coming months; and now it launches Jacksons Lane: Encore – a film that features circus artists performing amidst the rubble and entwined in the scaffolding, to tell a story of resilience and the desire to perform against the odds.
Strong Lady, Charmaine Childs said: ‘Standing in the rubble of the Jackson’s Lane, mid-renovation – seeing it with it’s makeup off, as it were, was like an amplified version of that feeling of being backstage, waiting to go on…. The building itself is slowly dressing for the show and waiting to step out in front of audiences once again.‘
As theatres have come back to life, the film signals the road ahead for this gem of an arts centre and gives a taste of what’s to come when the doors reopen and the building reanimates.
Adrian Berry said ‘As Jacksons Lane was unable to open this last year, due to the combination of the building redevelopment and COVID, it made us more determined than ever to find a way to employ circus artists and create new work. Whilst the building is a construction site, that wasn’t going to stop us. Working with long-time circus associate and director Kaveh Rahnama and frequent film collaborator Mark Morreau, we created Jacksons Lane: Encore a 7-minute journey through our venue-in-progress– scaffolding, rubble and all – with 10 circus artists working in former spaces, up high on giant modular frames and upside down in rediscovered arches. This moving and highly skilled work comprises acrobatics, aerial work, juggling and cyr wheel in every space at Jacksons Lane.’
Based on Archway Road, the organisation is still fundraising to meet fit out costs and complete its vision to be a state of the art complex, rooted in the community.
Fundraising campaigns including ‘Donate A Door’, ‘Love a Lantern’, ‘Buy a Brick’ and ‘Sponsor a Seat’ with a target of £30,000 will be launched later this month to ensure that the project’s completion can match the ambition to become a building worthy of its vision.
Past local resident Jonathan Pryce said: ‘We lived in Jacksons Lane for over 20 years. I have warm memories of the building’s past and great hopes for its future. It is a huge asset for the entire community and I know from my family’s personal experience (I rehearsed Hamlet’s sword fight there in 1980!) it is invaluable. Please give it all the support you can.’
Working with renowned Architects Citizens Design Bureau, the redevelopment aims to push the boundaries of artistic excellence with spaces that are inspiring and beautiful, practical and accessible. The new Jacksons Lane will be environmentally sustainable and will nurture curiosity in the Arts by future proofing the spaces and operational systems for the next generation and welcoming even more people through its doors to participate, experience, learn, work and socialise. The vision is to be welcoming, inspiring and accessible to everyone, more visible and inviting, and more reflective of its personality and ambition.
Jacksons Lane’s reopening season will be announced this summer.
