Roundhouse (venue)

Roundhouse (venue)

The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse, a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway purposes for about a decade. After being used as a warehouse for a number of years, the building fell into disuse just before the Second World War. It reopened twenty-five years later, as a performing arts venue, when the playwright Arnold Wesker established the Centre 42 Theatre Company and adopted the building as a theatre.

This large circular structure has hosted various notable promotions, such as the launch of the underground paper International Times in 1966, The Doors only UK appearance in 1968 and Greasy Truckers Party in 1972.

Greater London Council handed control of the building to Camden London Borough Council in 1983. By this time Centre 42 had run out of funds and the building remained unused until a local businessman purchased the building in 1996 and performing arts shows returned. It was closed again in 2004 for a multi-million pound redevelopment. On 1 June 2006, the Broadway show Fuerzabruta opened at the New Roundhouse.

Since 2006, Roundhouse has hosted the BBC Electric Proms and numerous iTunes Festival, as well as award ceremonies such as the BT Digital Music Awards and the Vodafone Live Music Awards. In 2009, Bob Dylan performed a concert and iTunes promoted a music iTunes Festival, at the venue. In line with the continuing legacy of avant-garde productions, No Fit State Circus performed Tabu during which the audience were encouraged to move around the performance space.

In 2010, Roundhouse Studios set up its own in-house record label, Roundhouse Records.