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The Halfway House was a site-specific, immersive theatre piece that was devised and staged in the old Central Saint Martins campus on Southampton Row, Holborn. It has been vacant for many years and is eventually due to be redeveloped as a high-end hotel. 

The piece was site-specific, we spent a lot of time in the building, exploring inside and out, sketching, photographing and filming it at different times of the day and night. It’s a huge, labyrinthine place and, during our first couple of months there, it was almost completely empty. At times it felt really magical and, at others, very spooky.

Research into the history of the building, its urban context, and past uses and users heavily influence the role-plays and narratives. As such, the story is really tailored to and emerges from the building and its history. From the beginning of the project we set a public platform with documentation of the old CSM and the online drama workshops for the participants involved in the production: https://www.are.na/persona-collective

Research - Satu Streatfield, Emma LD, Karolina Burlicowska, 
Claire Clare McAndrew, Rocio Ayllon
Photography - Karolina Burlicowska, Emma LD
In collaboration with - CSM Collections and Archives

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