We are a radical Theatre, and we welcome radical solutions. This was the first premise outlined by the artistic director of the Half Moon Theatre, Robert Walker. The list presented to the architectural team represents a true exaltation of spatial experimentation, with the principle being the design for the extension of the theatre, located on Mile End Road, on the East side of London.Florian Beigel (1940-2018), coordinator of the selected team, would develop the project between 1978 and 1985.
Florian Beigel recalls that at the opening a horse crossed the theatre space. This detail intensifies the curiosity to uncover a proposal often described as being ahead of its time, where the dissolution of the boundary between stage and audience is introduced to evoke a sense of urban space.
The aim of this talk is to demonstrate that the pertinence of its concept, as a prototype theatrical space, allows it to be classified as a dialectical synthesis between city and culture, an urban citation that, as with Brecht, calls for the understanding of society and transforms the city into a stage.
MARIA ANA CASTRO CALDAS ABOIM INGLEZ [1973]
Graduated in Architecture by Lisbon School of Architecture of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (UTL) in 1997. Founding partner of Aboim Inglez Arquitectos in 2010. Taught at Évora University in 2022 – 2023. Guest critic in several universities. Invited to present lecturers in several universities and institutions. PhD candidate at the Department of Architecture of Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (Da/UAL, currently developing the PhD thesis: FROM PRACTICE TO RESEARCH, FROM RESEARCH TO PRACTICE, from the Architecture Research Unit, PUBLICATION | DESIGN | TERRITORY.
For online attendance, please book your ticket before 18.00 on the day of the event. A link to watch the talk online will be sent to attendees before it begins.
Tickets on the door cost £15
Picture: Half Moon Theatre under construction, photograph by Florian Beigel, 1984(Source: Stages of Half Moon online archive)