Sir Peter Stothard: ‘amazing memories’

FORMER Times editor Sir Peter Stothard has been made a trustee of the Roundhouse arts centre in Chalk Farm.
Mr Stothard, 53, who lives in Eton Road, Hampstead, is one of three new trustees appointed by the charity converting the former train shed in Chalk Farm Road.
He is joined by actor Kwame Kwei-Armah, who starred in the BBC hospital drama Casualty and has written plays for the National Theatre, and Nicholas Allott, the managing director of Cameron Mackintosh’s West End theatre group.
Mr Stothard, who now edits the Times Literary Supplement, was a regular visitor to the Roundhouse in its heyday in the 1970s.
He said: “I have amazing memories of the place. My most cherished memory was going to a Patti Smith concert in the mid-70s, and it always struck me as quite a magical place.”
He added that he had watched its refurbishment take shape as he travelled past on his way to work each day.
He said: “It sits there like a great magic hat in the middle of the borough and it’s amazing to see it coming to life.
“It’s a wonderful edifice and a key building.”
Sir Peter, who spent 30 days shadowing Prime Minister Tony Blair in the build-up to the Iraq war for a book about the inner workings of Number 10, will help the Roundhouse raise the cash needed to complete the £30 million project.
It is £3 million short of completing the restoration, which will see the building turned into a performance venue and workshops, with studios in the labyrinth of Victorian cellars and rooms underneath.
Sir Peter added that it was important for Camden to have an arts venue that would be unique in London.
He said: “The Roundhouse always had an edge to it and I just hope it stays that way.
“It used to have a reputation for being slightly risqué – and that’s the sort of thing Camden needs. It says a lot about the borough, and that is one of the Roundhouse’s attractions. You never know what to expect – a circus or a play.”
But he added that the venue – originally built in 1847 as a workshop for engines and later converted to a warehouse for Gilbey’s gin – still needed the support of individual donors and volunteers if it is to come to life again.
He said: “Everyone should chip in. It is going to be such a great place, but it won’t happen unless people get involved.”