Giant Olive Theatre Company

Giant Olive Theatre Company

The Lion and Unicorn Theatre
Address	42-44 Gaisford St, Kentish Town, NW5 2ED London
Type	Production Company
Capacity	60-80
Website
www.giantolive.com

42-44 Gaisford St,

Giant Olive Theatre Company was founded in the summer of 2008 by Artistic Director George Sallis. The company stages classical theatre, commedia dell'arte, dance, contemporary plays, comedy, new writing and has become well known for its Charles Dickens Christmas adaptations along with its bold dance projects including the GOlive Dance and Performance Festival, curated by Donald Hutera (The Times).

Hugh Bonneville is a Patron of the Company. Associate artists include Ray Shell (Starlight Express, The Lion King), Antonia Franceschi (FAME, New York City Ballet), Mark Baldwin Rambert Dance Company and Zoe Martlew.

In 2013, Giant Olive produced the inaugural GOlive Dance and Performance festival, curated by veteran arts journalist Donald Hutera, whose writing has appeared in The Times, Time Out, Dance Europe and many other publications and websites world-wide. The festival patrons were Siobhan Davies and Rosemary Butcher. Spread across 21 consecutive days, and comprising over four dozen individuals or companies, the GOlive Festival featured work by Darren Ellis, Ella Mesma, Renaud Wiser, Anusha Subramanyam, Daniel Hay-Gordon/Eleanor Perry, 70/30 Split, Shane Shambhu, Nuno Silva, Moreno Solinas, Peta Lily, The Dangerologists, Stephanie Schober, Anna Williams, Stopgap's Sg2, Angela Woodhouse, Dog Kennel Hill Project, Avatâra Ayuso, Mickael Marso Rivière, Jennifer Jackson/Susie Crow, Annie Lok, Zoi Dimitriou and Fred Gehrig amongst many others. Between them the artist involved had worked with the likes of Complicite, Richard Alston, Siobhan Davies, Shobana Jeyasingh, Russell Maliphant, The Royal Ballet, Wayne McGregor|Random Dance, Rambert Dance Company, Henri Oguike, Arthur Pita and Fiona Shaw.

In 2011, George Sallis and Antonia Franceschi teamed up to produce a Gala performance, to mark the closure of the Lion & Unicorn Theatre for refurbishment. The evening included performances choreographed by Richard Alston, Mark Baldwin, Martin Lawrence, Jonathan Goddard with poetry directed by Patsy Rodenburg, and ‘Disco’ from Giant Olive’s POP8, again featuring Ballet Black.