O2 Forum Kentish Town

Located in the north London district of Kentish Town. A very similar in design sister theatre to the Forum Theatre, Ealing which opened the same year (1934) designed by the same architects. The Kentish Town Forum Theatre was opened 17th December 1934 and seated 2,175 in stalls and single balcony. The architects were John Stanley Beard & Alfred Douglas Clare, and the interior design was by William Robin Bennett. It was taken over in 1935 by Associated British Cinemas(ABC).

Re-named ABC in 1963, it was closed on 18th July 1970. It became first a bingo hall then a ballroom and finally a concert hall/theatre named the Town & Country Club in the 1980’s (I can well remember going to see “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” there - the bouncers on the door were terrifying!). It was closed in March 1993.

It returned to it’s original name later in 1993 and was operated by Live Nation as the Forum Theatre. It is now operated by the Academy Music Group as the O2 Forum Kentish Town. It is now a Grade II Listed building.

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

Ken Roe on July 27, 2005 at 12:47 pm

Exterior photo and some history on the Forum Cinema, Kentish Town, London here:
http://www.tnunn.f2s.com/forum.htm

Ken Roe on October 25, 2005 at 7:34 am

A recent exterior view of the former Forum Cinema, Kentish Town in North London, now in use as a rock concert venue.
View link

keiths on February 27, 2009 at 6:55 am

The family resemblance with the former Ealing Forum/ABC/Virgin/UGC is amazing. The Ealing version was tripled some years ago, but is currently being demolished. There were stories doing the rounds that a multiplex is going to replace it – utilising the former frontage – but we must wait and see.

davepring on May 20, 2014 at 3:52 pm

There are plans for films to return to The Forum in the near future when the venue is not booked for concerts.

popcorn_pete on February 9, 2018 at 12:00 pm

Opened 17 December 1934 and closed 18 July 1970. The Town and Country Club during the 1980s, survived a redevelopment plan in 1992 but closed March 1993. Later that year Mean Fiddler took on the lease with films of a musical nature returning to the former cinema in 1995 under the Silver Screen Cinema Club banner. The MAMA group took over the lease in 2007 and refurbished the building in 2009 when it became known as the HMV Forum. The current operator is Live Nation, part of the Academy Music Group, which has rebranded the venue the O2 Forum.