The BAC’s home is a Victorian building which was, for 70 years, Battersea Town Hall. It first began to be used for the arts in the early 1900’s when talent shows, jazz performances and musical evenings were hosted in its halls. After local government reorganisation in 1963, it ceased to be the seat of the borough council, but it continued to be used for dances, shows and community events. It was officially established as a council arts centre in the seventies and became an independent organisation in 1980.
The BAC has an innovative approach to theatre, called the “scratch” methodology. This means it allows an outside audience to see productions at various stages of development, and uses their reactions to guide the direction of the show. It is a place where new work is often tested and promoted before going on tour, or being taken up by the big theatres in the West End. One example of this is Jerry Springer – The Opera, which premiered here in 2002 before transferring to the National Theatre.
It has 2 main performance spaces with flexible seating arrangements. The Grand Hall has a capacity of 400 on round tables or 550 theatre style. The Lower Hall can seat 140 or 180. Wheelchair users can be accommodated and all the theatre’s facilities are accessible. The building has ramps and rails at the main entrance and adapted toilets on the ground floor. There are induction loops in the auditoriums and the building is air-conditioned.
There is also a café-bar on the ground floor, serving cakes, lunches and drinks. The nearest tubes are Clapham Common or Stockwell; both of them are a 15 minute bus ride away on the number 345. Clapham Junction overland station is closer – the theatre is just a 5 or 10 minute walk up Lavender Hill from there.
There is no parking at the venue and most side roads have residential and restricted parking between the hours of 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday. However, there is an Asda supermarket on Lavender Hill with a large car park.
In our travels around the web, we found these BAC web pages useful. Contact us at team@tubehotels.com to list your favourite BAC website here.
| 3 | Windmill On The Common | 1.3km |
| 5 | Hotel Rafayel | 1.4km |
| 2 | Euro Hotel Clapham | 1.4km |
| 5 | Verta Hotel | 1.5km |
| 2 | Euro Lodge Clapham | 1.5km |
| 2 | Travelodge London Battersea | 1.5km |
| 2 | Chelsea Guest House | 1.7km |
| Gateway Hotel | 1.8km | |
| 3 | Jurys Inn Chelsea | 1.9km |