Under-the-ground London

Text - Permalink

Throughout the centuries, the dense populations crammed into the streets, warrens and back alleys of London have forced residents to find new spaces below ground. Today many hidden delights are to be found for those willing to shun the glare of sun and starlight and uncover what lies beneath the teeming streets.

THE OLD VIC TUNNELS

Venturing down under the Station Approach Bridge beneath Waterloo the visitor is greeting by what would appear to be a heavily graffitied passage, but is in fact the entrance to a theatre housed in a former underground tunnel. It is a curious place. Dripping water echoing in all directions, the ceiling quaking from the periodic rumble of trains overhead, the irrepressible gloom. An actress from the recent opera Orpheus and Eurydice confided in me that it was a claustrophobic and difficult space to work in for hours at a time. But the spectacle it produces can be incredible. In the case of Orpheus there was no better theatre to convey the sinister Greek underworld of Tartarus.

GUILDHALL

If you can make it past the financiers pretending to admire second rate English Masters in the Gallery then Guildhall, the heart of the Corporations of the City, reveals an intriguing ruin. The museum takes you down to the remains of a great Roman Amphitheatre. Stepping out onto the cool ground moving towards the central arena, it is hard not to be impressed by this ancient space where barbarians, criminals and Christians fought for their lives and freedom.

GINGLIK

At the East corner of Shepherd’s Bush Green is a small dark sign overlooked by the traffic surging past. Ginglik is a former public toilet below the Green, which has since been converted into a well sized bar and intimate performance space for theatre groups, comics and musicians to test their metal.

Tom Crellen