Friday 23 May 2014

Shaw Theatre, 100 Euston Road NW1

The entrance to the Shaw Theatre is marked by Keith Grant's abstract piece St Joan, intended to recall not the girl but the military culture she embraced but ultimately destroyed her. A stylised knight's helm is intersected by lances and surrounded by longbows, a strong and memorable image.
Like many of Grant's works, it looks its best at night when coloured lights within bring it to life. I must return after dark to get a better picture.
George Bernard Shaw lived in the parish of St Pancras. The theatre that bears his name was originally built in 1971 as part of a complex including a public library, and St Joan stood on Euston Road at the main entrance. When the library was moved to Camden Town Hall to allow the original building to be converted into an hotel, the piece was moved in 2002 to the side and mounted on a new based designed by Grant.

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