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Camden News - by TOM FOOT
Published: 8 January 2009

A performance of Twelfth Night during last year’s summer season at the Open Air Theatre

Spitting mad! Late-night theatre anger

CHILLY summer nights at the Open Air Theatre are some of the highlights of the theatrical calendar.
But whether it’s Feste or Touchstone appearing on the famous Regent’s Park stage this year, Shakespeare’s fools won’t be the only ones clowning around.
The park playhouse – which has launched the careers of actors Edward Fox, Jeremy Irons, Zoe Wanamaker and Ralph Fiennes – wants to stage a series of special midnight performances this summer starring the cream of British stand-up.
But it’s no laughing matter for the Friends of Regent’s Park lobby group, who fear noise and illegal parking in the private roads around the Inner Circle.
Malcolm Kafetz, chairman of the Friends of Regent’s Park, said: “We have had a few late-night performances already and the trouble is that people leaving on the Inner Circle can be very noisy. It is not a public road, it is a private road that is owned and maintained by the Crown Estate Paving Commission. It is possible to hear noise from the theatre from their homes as well. There are people in very expensive homes who live by the park who have complained about the noise already.”
The Open Air Theatre has promised to use the late licence on just three occasions – on June 20, July 24 and August 29. Comic Daniel Kitson, who has appeared in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and has won awards for his stand-up act, has been booked for one of the events.
A Open Air Theatre spokeswoman said: “On each occasion a late-night comedy event will take place featuring a well-known stand-up comedian. The events are ticketed and the bar will not be open during or after the performance. The performance will run between 12 midnight and 1am. The licence variation the company has applied for applies only to these dates and the company has no plans to run any other events after midnight this summer.”
The theatre is set to announce its summer season of plays – which normally include a musical, Shakespearean comedy and tragedy and childrens play – in the next few weeks.

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