Theatrical and arty

The ideal spot to sink your life savings in producing and premiering the play wot you wrote - and then drown your sorrows on the proceeds of the handful of tickets you actually managed to
sell.

The little theatre upstairs probably seats no more than 50 but is a lively, vibrant venue. Some great stuff and some mind-blowing rubbish gets put on there. The whole place has a theatrical, arty air but it is also a first-class local boozer.

So you'll find the bottle-nosed middle managers from the big BT offices across the road necking it down at one end of the bar while actor wannabes giggle and shrill down the other - all interspersed with locals of all types enjoying the draft Pride, Broadside, Abbot, Leffe and Staropramen.

The decor could come from a set-designer's template - that heavy old embossed wallpaper with generations of dull-red (for the walls) and essence of nicotine (for the ceiling) paint layers, comfortable benches running round, a scattering of tables and chairs and plenty of space for those who prefer to stand and bray at one another.

Our fear is one day they'll probably gentrify this place - and the world will be poorer for it.

CLIENTELE: locals, regulars, theatre types
NEAREST STATION: Angel station
FEATURES: real ales, Sky TV (small screens)

Old Red Lion
418 St. John Street, EC1V 4NJ