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As long-term readers will be aware, I’ve documented the lovely, if lengthy (and ultimately unworkable) history behind a proposed new cinema for Kentish Town over many years.

To briefly recap, back in 2013, residents scored a hollow victory in having such a screen baked into the planning application for the iconic old Polytechnic assembly hall, on the corner of Prince of Wales Rd.

A perfect storm of Covid lockdowns, Netflix, smartphones, skyrocketing high street rates and assorted other factors meant it proved impossible to deliver. That’s despite valiant efforts, including our own pop-up poster sale and festival screening, and a provocative funding idea we pitched to the Council and wider community via Camdenist exactly a year ago, that fell on resoundingly deaf ears.

With change of use granted, and the posh Drop Gym chain now operating in the space, it felt like the silver screen dream was well and truly over.

Mooted ideas to attempt something similar in the historic actual former Palace Cinema - somewhat incongruously situated directly opposite the Poly building, complete with the original raked grand circle balcony and art deco ceiling still in tact - also saw reality bite when Odeon announced they were unable to continue to viably run the once beloved Parkway multiplex down the road, and it would be closing imminently, as audience habits continue to drift away from regular cinema-going.

Yet, there was always one more spot on Prince of Wales Road, a place that I’d gone as far as inquiring about with the landlords; the mothballed but glorious Methodist church and former Zabludowicz Collection art gallery at 176.

The building was recently acquired by husband-and-wife artist duo Philip and Charlotte Colbert, who have reopened it as new blank canvas arts space Camden Arts Projects. You may well have taken our advice and gone along to the joyous Martin Creed balloon pit there, but it was a side door away from the main room rumpus that caught my attention.

The promise? A forthcoming room dedicated to “film, art, and conversation”, boasting curated programs, guest curators and intimate screenings…

Sounds rather like that long-held dream local cinema space, to me.

A definitive opening date for the screen room is yet to be announced, despite me regularly pestering them for the scoop, so we’ve still got to wait to see what the programme and offering look like, but with The Little Bread Peddler already running the cafe in reception, and further ambitious exhibitions due in the main church hall soon, Kentish Town may ultimately have lucked out and gained its cozy community arthouse screen after all.

176 is without doubt far more lovely - and obviously viable - than the cramped remains of the converted assembly hall/Pizza Express would ever have been, so I’m happy to genuinely call it: after a decade and a half of twists, disappointments and dramas, there will soon be a local ‘cinema’ on Prince of Wales Rd!

It’s a telling sign of where the UK high street is at today that is was a fitness outlet that was able to succeed in the Polytechnic site, where a cinema simply could not attract investors or operators, (and quite possibly enough regular customers, too).

While the once great lure of going to ‘the pictures’ to catch a blockbuster on a big screen with thousands of others seems to be a relic of the increasingly distant past, and the viability of other traditional social spaces - such as pubs, clubs and music venues - remains highly precarious, gyms and fitness studios are undoubtedly booming.

Hot on the treadmill-heels of Drop Gym arriving in the Poly, and The Island Pilates studio opening a few doors up, its been revealed that Kentish Town Road’s former Lidl - a site that has been a supermarket of one variety or another for decades - is being converted into the area’s second branch of PureGym.

We hear a lot about gyms being one of the last spaces where people have the opportunity to meet new friends or potential partners in the real world, but I’m not entirely comfortable with the concept of swapping out so many of our important cultural and social meeting places for ones that are mostly focused on getting ripped for Instagram.

It’s fascinating to see the culture shift, and how that transforms our retail parades in ways that would have seemed fairly bizarre just a few short years ago. Lamenting Kentish Town’s many lost grand fleapits isn’t going to bring back the moment in history when they were a big thing, but it’s right to stay aware of what is lost when technology and trends erase once significant community experiences - and make sure we replace what is missing with something that fulfills those foundational human needs.

Gyms, particularly the smaller variety that increasingly line Kentish Town Rd, are characterised by misted windows, locked doors and exclusive membership requirements. They are not social or public spaces in the way that even a grocery store is.

As our retail units, entertainment attractions and hospitality offerings continue to be reshaped by an equally fast-changing society, let’s try and hold on to the passion that kept the KT cinema dream alive for all that time, even if the project itself was doomed.

The free market may dictate that high street music venues or big screen cinemas are no longer workable, but our wish to congregate, celebrate and enjoy cultural production together remains.

It’s worth fighting for, and supporting with your regular patronage - even if you do that after another session down at the gym.

FOOD & DRINK

Next chapter opens for Gipsy Queen

As suggested in this weekly newsletter, rumours of the demise of Malden Rd pub the Gipsy Queen have been - thankfully - greatly exaggerated. We’re blessed that a decent boozer around here doesn’t stand empty for too long right now, despite the dire national trends.

Dropping by the reopened Gipsy this week revealed a very decent selection of beers on tap, the imminent return of the kitchen in the next week or so (food reveal still forthcoming) and plans for lots of pub games up in the sizable upstairs function room after a little revamp.

It’s now being run by smallish indie pub co Clapham Leisure, as their first foray into this corner of North London, and it’s delightful to see the pub back with sun streaming in the windows, almost as if it had never been away.

🎲 Still on the subject of the metamorphosis of retail, hospitality and leisure, locally-founded street food market trailblazers Kerb open their latest space over in Spitalfields today, mixing games, DJs and big screen sports into their usual multi-vendor food offering.

Interestingly, the Kerb Social Club is also going big on private rooms, where groups can apparently enjoy “their own vibe, with all the action and none of the pressure”, which sounds a touch anti-social to me, but then I’ve just been banging on about the unpopularity of large scale cinemas, so it shouldn’t surprise me to hear that there’s a trend for going out with your mates that feels rather like, er, staying in.

FESTIVALS

11 days of free open-air music in KX

🎶The luxe free music and performance festival King’s Cross Summer Sounds kicks off it’s 10th anniversary year on Thurs 7th Aug, with some of the most popular acts from the last 10 years and some tasty newcomers playing across 11 consecutive days of music and dance. Look out too for flamenco workshops, life drawing, playful puppetry shows and even sculpture, too, with live music in Coal Drops Yard every evening from 6.30pm.

Meanwhile, over at Kings Place, there are several performances of Fire Songs by the specially convened Kings Cross Summer Sounds Choir, which are immersive, multi-sensory theatre performances for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

👶🏼 It’s the Coram’s Field Play Day 2025 on Wed 6th Aug, celebrating the vital spaces where childhood play can thrive. Expect live music, sports challenges, inflatables, animal encounters and loads more playful stuff.

🍲 Euston’s Old Diorama Arts Centre are throwing their annual Regent’s Roots Festival on Sat 2nd Aug with a full programme including circus-theatre, South Asian dance, Ukrainian singing and masses of Masala King curry and snacks at this proper little local festi that’s well worth dropping by.

🥶 London Canal Museum’s popular Ice Weekend festival is on Sat 2nd-Sun 3rd Aug, celebrating Camden’s fledgling Victorian ice cream trade, the import of huge slabs of ice by boat all the way from Norway, and the underground storage facilities built for it are all celebrated. There are kids craft activities in the museum, storytelling barge and tunnel trips, and the chance to descend into the ice wells.
Then there are a series of other family fun days running every Tuesday throughout August, too.

🎧 Join in-demand DJ Shy One for free tonight, Fri 1st Aug, as she becomes the latest hand-picked guest to grace the decks at Jazzie B’s Back2Life Cafe in the square at Hawley Wharf from 5pm.

🎤 Head over to Camden Market’s Summer Sessions, which kicked off last night at North Yard pub The Dark Horse, where you’ll find artists A30 and Hari performing live tomorrow Sat 2nd Aug and then Anessa Marie and Broken Pen on Sun 3rd. You even get a free drink with your free ticket, so book early.

…and some of your comments

“Just too much and the expectation that you will use the multitude of apps. No thanks...re your point in the intro about being attached to phones and increasingly AI.”

“Even as someone from the younger generation who grew up with everything in digital format, finding out what's happening around me is still surprisingly tricky and time-consuming. You often need three to five different apps just to search, and just as many accounts to actually book or attend anything. Even then, the experience is often overwhelming - oversaturated with too many events, ads, and irrelevant recommendations based on an algorithm that thinks you're still interested in something you signed up to attend two years ago. While it's true that putting events online on free platforms has made them more accessible, it often comes at the cost of genuine human connection. It lacks the trust and charm of a reliable source or a simple word-of-mouth recommendation.”

“Too many places and too much to look through it becomes tedious and I give up! Some way to streamline a bit more. So if you looked through Time Out you could go to your sections of interest and then challenge yourself with something unknown on a local easy date from the diary of events. I’m 60 and will forever love going out in London to new things!”

“I’m a recent Camdenist convert! I’m a long time resident and stumbled on your amazing newsletter. I rely on a social media dad who does out and about in London content, plus venue websites, Camden new journal, the ad-rag Primrose Hill nonsense (photos of wealthy Primrose hill business owners). I’d love you to do a round up of the best Camden influencers/handles? It’s hard to keep track of all the venues, from Roundhouse, Camden brewery, Kokos, Everyman etc so many things to do and no single place to find it all! Maybe this is too big an undertaking, but even a few tips each week on where to get info on tickets and events. Love your writing!”

Thanks for this valuable feedback to all who voted and commented. We’re working on a new Camdenist Curated section, to pick the very best things locally that you might not have heard about. Stay tuned, as it’s coming soon…

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