The World Premiere of Brixton Calling, an electric new play infused with a live soundtrack of reggae, punk, rock and rave comes to Southwark Playhouse Borough from 23 July to 16 August 2025.
Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the director of Olivier-nominated Cruise and written by Alex Urwin. Full casting to be announced shortly.
This drama is inspired by Simon Parkes’ bestselling memoir Live at the Brixton Academy, a remarkable and deeply personal true story about a 23-year-old outsider who bought a derelict cinema for £1 in 1983, called it The Academy and transformed it into the iconic music venue that changed everything.
Set during a time of complex social and political change, this nostalgic love letter to a place and sound that defined an era is brought to life for the first time on stage just fifteen minutes from where it all happened.
Writer Alex Urwin and producer John Dinneen add: “Brixton Calling is a joyous time capsule for music fans and just as importantly, an entry point into the big questions of how all of music, politics, south London and Britain changed through the ‘80s and ‘90s – for better and for worse – and the legacies of that change we’re still working through today. We can’t wait to transport audiences back in time to experience the legendary moments that became part of this country’s music history.”
With generous support from Arts Council England, Kick It Anywhere is delighted to be using this project to work with the community-focused music, events, and apparel charity, The Soulstice Collective, to deliver workshops related to the play to young people from South London – the next generation of creative talent.
Kick It Anywhere is also working with partners across South London – including Raw Material Music – a community music and creative arts centre, Deaf Rave and Pop Brixton – to capture the spirit of the story and create a platform for brilliant creatives across music and theatre.
London is a city of countless music venues but in my eyes playing Brixton was the true sign of a successful band. I’ve been fortunate enough to play there a number of times now, firstly as part of the NME Awards tour but subsequently as the headline act – and the feeling of prestige never gets old’ Russell Lissack, Bloc Party
‘Brixton was always the one. It was so authentic as a venue, it’s when things became ‘real’. A proper old Victorian beer hall of a place with a century’s sweat and ale steeped into the woodwork and plaster, and the faded glamour of that mighty proscenium arch. The first time I stood on that stage was in The Libertines supporting Morrissey. All my life I’d wanted to be an actor playing to an adoring theatre crowd, and here I was in front of a sea of stony faces with beer cans bouncing off my head.’ Carl Barat, The Libertines
