The OSO Arts Centre is a theatre and arts centre located in

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. The building was previously the postal

sorting office A sorting office or processing and distribution center (P&DC; name used by the United States Postal Service (USPS)) is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, which ...

, but was redeveloped into a mixture of residential and commercial space with the first residents moving in in 1999. In 2002 the arts centre opened and in 2012 the OSO Arts Centre came under the direction of a new board of trustees. The building is located on Barnes Green, and provides arts services to the community, both in the form of evening performances in the theatre space, and daytime dance and art classes. Some well-known names have performed at the OSO over the years including Patricia Hodge, Timothy West, Stephanie Cole, Julian Glover,

Janie Dee Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award fo ...

, Issy van Randwyck, Harriet Thorpe, Lee Nelson and

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...

. The theatre is currently led by Artistic Director Jonny Danciger and General Manager Lisa Ross. Its artistic ambassadors include

Gyles Brandreth Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is an English broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning ...

Roger McGough Roger Joseph McGough (; born 9 November 1937) is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Poetry Please'', as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one o ...

and Kate Silverton. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 the theatre space was refurbished as a 'Crisis Kitchen', with the OSO staff and volunteers preparing over 10,000 free meals for the elderly and vulnerable, NHS workers, and those in economic hardship. The chair of trustees was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Years Honours list for this initiative. A full refurbishment of the venue, designed by B3 Designers, was completed in Autumn 2020. The refurbished theatre was officially opened by Michael Ball in October 2020.

References

External links

Official website
{{LB Richmond 2002 establishments in England Arts centres in London Barnes, London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Sorting offices Theatres in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames