[Bronagh Lagan]
BRIXTON CALLING
Jul-Aug 2024 - Southwark Playhouse
A Kick It Anywhere production
Based on the memoir Live at the Brixton Academy by Simon Parkes
Adapted by Alex Urwin
Director - Bronagh Lagan
Set & Costume Design - Nik Corrall
Lighting Design - Derek Anderson
Sound Design - Max Pappenhiem
Producer - Kick It Anywhere
Brixton. Music. Memory. Mayhem.
Based on Simon Parkes’ memoir Live at the Brixton Academy, Brixton Calling charts the wild, chaotic and extraordinary story of how a crumbling South London cinema became one of the most iconic music venues in the world.
At just 23, Simon bought the derelict Brixton Academy for £1 and transformed it into a cultural landmark, hosting everyone from The Clash and The Smiths to Madonna, The Prodigy and Grace Jones. But behind the legendary gigs was a story of risk, reinvention, drugs, money, community, violence, ambition and survival.
Part gig-theatre, part memoir, part love letter to London’s music scene, Brixton Calling captures the anarchic spirit of a building, a borough and a generation who refused to play quietly.
Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the production won three Off West End Awards, including Best Production, Best Sound & Music and Best Design.