Bridge Theatre’s ‘sister space’ Lightroom to open in London in January with first show announced

The brand-new location is billed as a “four-storey-high space in Kings Cross equipped with the latest digital projection and audio technology”, allowing audiences to witness “a repertoire of original shows, made with leading artists and innovators, aspiring to be visually astonishing, alive with sound and rich in new perspectives.”

The first of these is David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away). Running from 25 January to 23 April 2023, the show will see audiences able to travel through Hockney’s iconic work, rarely seen pieces and some newly created material.

The show is the result of three years of collaboration between Hockney and the Lightroom team, with director Mark Grimmer of 59 Productions saying: “We have worked with David to bring together large-scale projected images, animation, archival and bespoke interviews and a commissioned score to create a new kind of show which owes as much to Hockney’s theatrical design as to his painting, drawing and photography. It’s been thrilling to work with David over the last three years and we hope the show will introduce a whole new audience to his art.”

Executive producer Nicholas Hytner (artistic director of the Bridge and co-founder of Lightroom) added: “What’s so exciting about this show is how authentically Hockney it is. Listening to his voice in this astonishing new space while seeing his artworks unfurl around the four walls is going to be both an experience and an education. It suggests how potent this medium will be for the other creators and artists with whom we will make new and original Lightroom shows in the years to come.”

The venue is designed by Haworth Tompkins to act as a sister space to the Bridge, with the location open seven days a week.

Tickets for the show are £25 for adults, with £15 student tickets available.