Fit For A King

Perhaps it’s a quirk of the British temperament, but it’s hard to deny our love for a good, solid institution.

Sure we b*tch about the royal family, about the joke that is the American presidential campaign and the farce that we call the Olympics. But boy if we don’t hold a queer respect for all of them. And if they’re artistic institutions, that’s even better.

There’s something appealing about having everything under one roof - The ICA, the Barbican, Somerset House, the Southbank Centre – kind of like a cash & carry for culture. When Rivington House launched this time last year we got all excited. And now, King’s Cross is finally getting its own injection of ‘instant soul’.

The first concert hall built in London since the Barbican, King’s Place holds two multimedia performance spaces for a total audience of 640 and will provide a home for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the London Sinfonietta , and the relocated Guardian offices.

The Opening Festival promises 100 performances over 5 days (that’s 10 per stage, per day, in case you were wondering). And if you don’t end up institutionalised after that onslaught of culture, then we salute you too.

King's Place:  90 York Way, London N1 9AG

by AC