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Damien Devine has been the landlord of the Old Red Lion (ORL) for 21 years, and is as of 2024 executive director of the theatre. Daughter Róisín Devine and wife Helen Devine are associate director/consulting producer. Another daughter, Mary, is also in the family business. Damien's niece Helen
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In the late 18th century
Chester Road became notorious for highwaymen, with patrols being provided to protect those travelling along it at night. At this time descriptions state that the Old Red Lion was a small brick house with three trees in its forecourt, visited by
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for
Charles Dickerson and John William North, adding two exits onto different streets. This gave the pub the nickname "the In and Out", since taxi passengers could avoid paying their fare by entering it through one door and disappearing through the other.
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The pub in itself is one of the oldest in London, having first been built in 1415 in what was then the rural village of
Islington in open countryside and fields. A house called Goose Farm and some nearby cattle pens (for herds being driven to
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in 1987, the theatre was threatened with closure due to the tightening of fire regulations. Artistic director Ken McClymont raised funds to install a
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elements. The building is four storeys high, with residential accommodation in the floors above the pub. The
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The literary department reads over 1,000 scripts each year, under an open submissions policy.
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opened on the pub's first floor as the Old Red Lion
Theatre Club. Under artistic director
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Alexander Knott (Artistic
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Henry
Filloux-Bennett (Artistic Director 2010-2011) (Co-Artistic Director) (2011–2012)
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In 1979 the pub became a family-run pub theatre, run by the Devine family. A small
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The pub retains several identical pairs of original glazed doors with glazing,
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Jack
Robertson; Alexander Knott; Katy Danbury; Clive Judd (June 2023).
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Katy
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wall lanterns on pillars, and much of its original interior.
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1585:South London
1555:RADA Studios
1550:The Questors
1515:Old Red Lion
1500:Little Angel
1375:The Broadway
1345:Barons Court
1224:Off West End
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1683:Cock Tavern
1530:Pentameters
1520:Orange Tree
1490:King's Head
1465:Hoxton Hall
1297:Royal Court
1189:The Old Vic
1165:Other major
1147:Shaftesbury
1142:St Martin's
1120:Independent
1007:LW Theatres
967:Noël Coward
899:Ambassadors
791:4 September
555:During the
493:playwriting
456:(2002–2004)
438:(1979–1981)
392:in 1994 by
378:fire escape
340:balustraded
332:Renaissance
300:(who wrote
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225:The Old Red
112: /
87:Coordinates
1780:Categories
1645:White Bear
1610:Theatre503
1440:Finborough
1395:Canal Café
1360:Bloomsbury
1316:Fringe and
1111:Vaudeville
1106:@sohoplace
1025:Drury Lane
934:Piccadilly
567:References
521:Nina Raine
489:Manchester
372:After the
160:Production
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1728:Warehouse
1595:The Space
1535:The Place
1505:Millfield
1450:Greenwich
1425:Courtyard
1405:Churchill
1390:Brookside
1335:artsdepot
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724:"History"
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1752:Category
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1435:Etcetera
1380:Broadway
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1194:Open Air
1184:National
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1063:Dominion
987:Sondheim
882:West End
817:19 March
673:Archived
151:Capacity
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1764:Commons
1718:Saville
1708:New End
1703:Mermaid
1688:Empress
1630:Unicorn
1625:Turbine
1420:Coronet
1415:Compass
1410:Cockpit
1400:Chelsea
1232:Almeida
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1091:Garrick
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336:parapet
258:History
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1698:Landor
1660:Former
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1242:Bridge
1237:Arcola
1101:Palace
1081:Apollo
924:Lyceum
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679:2 June
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525:Rabbit
503:Awards
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168:Opened
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1635:Union
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1096:Lyric
944:Savoy
233:Angel
231:, at
134:Angel
1580:Shaw
1525:Park
1445:Gate
1355:Beck
1302:Soho
1267:Kiln
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1127:Arts
819:2019
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607:2015
330:and
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