Caledonian Road

Caledonian Road and Regent’s Canal, London

June 2002

Ben Harrison’s final project for the Almeida was a study of life on the Caledonian Road, both past and present. This production used both local people and professional actors to animate the social history and turbulent present of this famous stretch of North London, known popularly as ‘the Cally.’

The performance took the audience on a tour of the area by foot and bus, using diverse and evocative locations to perform the stories of the road. The performance culminated in a twilight walk along the towpath of the Regents Canal.

Susannah Clapp, The Observer

The Almeida is the only major London theatre to take site-specific work on board. The theatre became its own performance when, on moving to Kings Cross, it took the area into itself in Lulu. Now Ben Harrison has done the opposite with Caledonian Road and guided audiences through the streets. At times, this is like seeing your normal life framed, at times it drifts into surrealism. . .At its best, it unsettles the way you look at the world: you never quite know what’s the scenery and what’s action, what’s real and what’s not.