Recycle electrical items at The Kiln Dec 30th - January 12th

Fire the Kiln! Demonstration outside the theatre Monday evening

Campaigner fighting to retain the name of the Tricycle Theatre are demonstrating outside the theatre, now renamed The Kiln, next week. 269 Kilburn High Road, London, UK.

The main demonstration is on Monday at 6pm when supporters have been asked to 'dress up as if going to walk down the red carpet or come as you are'.

There are is a further protest on Wednesday September 12th at 6pm.

Organisers said:

When the [management]  banned the local paper [Camden New Journal] from Press Night for reporting local opposition to the name change, it was just the latest example of their sour culture… 

1. Donors gave money to the Tricycle without being told it was for Kiln. 

2. The theatre misled the public about support for the name change, later admitting they did not properly consult. 

3. The leader of Brent Council kept the name-change plans secret for months, even from his own Councillors.  

Please come out for an hour, and bring your friends.  Help us restore the Tricycle’s name, culture and connection with the community.

'It's OUR Tricycle not YOUR Kiln!' Bank Holiday demonstration draws big crowd

It was a record breaking hot early May Bank Holiday and the heat was on the Tricycle Theatre management today when local people who attend the theatre and cinema assembled to protest outside the theatre at the name change to 'The Kiln.'

They complained about lack of consultation with the local community and the theatre and cinema's customers and lamented the loss of the historic links of the original name - ironically links that the billboard outside the theatre described. (below)  One demonstrator commented that as customers they should have been consulted and that as Brent Council had given the theatre 1,000,000 for the refurbishment the Council should also have had a say and discussed the proposal with residents.  Their council tax had helped pay for the refurishment.

'It is not the private property of the directors,' one demonstrator said, 'It is a community facility - it belongs to all of us.'

Another demonstrator, a local man who has attended the theatre and cinema for decades, went further saying that the action of the artistic director was one of a piece with other community losses in Kilburn.  He spoke about the loss of local pubs and the demise of community projects with local people feeling a loss of control as things that really mattered to them were taken away or shut down. Now, he suggested,  the community outreach work of the Tricycle seemed to be threatened in the wake of the relaunch.

Two young women spoke about what they had gained from the drama workshops held at the Tricycle and how this has increased their confidence and social skills.

It is likely that there will be more demonstrations and protests before the new season opens with a petition already gaining more than 1,000 signatures. Sign the petition HERE.

The Tricycle Theatre: 'Keep the Name!' Protest tomorrow (Monday) 11am

There will be a Bank Holiday Monday protest outside the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn High Road against the proposal to change its name to The Kiln.

People who wish to see the Tricycle’s name retained are urged to bring placards, banners etc outside the theatre at 11am. The TV programme London Tonight is expected to be there unless a more important London story breaks.

The organisers say they are protesting for two main reasons. This is what they told me.:

Firstly, there was no consultation: See this comment from one of over 100 people on nextdoor.co.uk who have voiced their opposition: 

Just went to the jazz evening at Willesden library cafe. There were 29 people there. Every single one of them signed the petition! All angered at the name change. All wanted the ‘Tricycle’ name to be retained. Most spoke of their annoyance at the change. They were a mixed group of young and mature people, men and women, 14 black people, six of whom were men and one of whom a Rastafarian young man was vociferous in his criticism of the change. The other signatures were white and also of mix gender. I am pointing this out only to show that the theatre and its name is loved by Brent residents of every ilk and to prove that there really is a whole-hearted rejection of the name change! I did not have to even try to persuade a single person to sign the petition.

Secondly, there is no support for it - literally none.  Not one person. It’s a sad case of groupthink by the management of the theatre because we’ve been speaking to hundreds of people for the last three weeks and NOT ONE has voiced support - 1083 have signed an online petition LINK 750 have signed paper petitions outside the Tricycle cinema. 

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