National Youth Theatre courts drama with alcohol licence bid

The National Youth Theatre on Holloway Road. Image: Google

The owners of the National Youth Theatre (NYT) in Islington have drawn the ire of local residents in their plans to start serving booze during late-night shows.

The Holloway playhouse wants to sell alcohol from 11am to midnight on weeknights and weekdays, and is seeking permission for film, music, and dance performances for the same hours.

This would “enable the theatre to incorporate the provision of refreshments into the hospitality offering on a permanent basis”, the applicants stated.

But some residents have opposed the bid, citing the already “extreme” noise coming from the theatre group rehearsing in the nearby private car park.

They added that the young thespians had been blocking the driveway for vehicles trying to enter and exit, causing daily honking from cars.

One person, whose bedroom is located near the playhouse’s back entrance, argued that allowing the NYT to stage late-night performances all week would risk them “never sleeping again”.

“I can hear something as simple as singing clear enough to understand the lyrics from my bedroom with the windows closed,” they wrote.

“I enjoy the creativity and support the [NYT] doing more shows, but I’d prefer the noise to end at 22.30 rather than 00.30, and not every night.”

Another dissenter argued that the youth theatre’s organisers had “not engaged with residents in any meaningful way”, and complained that the shared entrance on Holloway Road was regularly “covered by cigarette butts”.

Organisers have subsequently written to residents, insisting that alcohol sales would “remain a very small part of what [the theatre does] as a nationally renowned youth arts charity”.

The theatre’s head of operations, Paul Callaghan, said many patrons had enjoyed being able to watch a performance in a local venue, and that in recent years productions had been “complemented with a limited offer of alcoholic refreshments under temporary licences”.

To promote the council’s licensing objectives, the applicants agreed to operate CCTV while the public are in attendance, and to display “clear and prominent notices” in any outdoor public area requesting people to be quiet and consider neighbours’ experiences.

First established in 1956, the NYT has nurtured the talents of an array of stars, including Daniel-Day Lewis, Kate Winslet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Craig, Helen Mirren, Derek Jacobi, Rosamund Pike, and Colin Firth.

The licensing panel will meet to review the application on Thursday 24 April.