Fight to save historic artists studios from the wrecking ball to make way for new bijoux houses
One of Chelsea's last surviving purpose-built artists' studio complexes is facing an uncertain future after plans were unveiled to replace it with five luxury townhouses. For more than a century Stanley Studios in Park Walk has provided creative workspace for generations of artists, including celebrated sculptor Dame Elizabeth Frink. Now neighbours fear one of the borough's important reminders of its artistic heritage could disappear forever. Residents living in Stanley Mansions in Park Walk and The Sandhills in Limerston Street that flank the studios have launched a determined fight against...
The Citizen makes history as new media partner for The Chelsea History Festival
The Chelsea History Festival will return this autumn with a programme of around 100 events, bringing world-renowned historians, broadcasters, performers and storytellers to venues across Chelsea. Running from 1 to 4 October 2026, the eighth edition of the festival will explore the theme of World History, examining the people, events and ideas that have shaped societies across the globe. The Chelsea Citizen is proud to be supporting the festival as its official media partner, helping bring the stories, speakers and events of the four-day celebration to audiences across the borough. Rob...
“I was resentful at the time, but as time goes on, the less I feel that way — war is hell”. Stories of heroism at the National Army Museum
Three men who faced bullets, bombs and terrorists — and lived to tell the tale — gathered in Chelsea as the National Army Museum celebrated becoming the new home of a world-famous collection of Victoria and George Crosses. Reporter John Cookson joined an audience captivated by extraordinary stories of courage, fear and survival. You could have heard a pin drop. A room of a hundred or so guests sat transfixed as three of Britain's most decorated living heroes recounted moments that changed their lives forever. The event marked the National Army Museum becoming the permanent home of...
High Society: A colourful and joyous night of escape at brutalist Barbican – just what the doctor ordered
The Citizen was all set to write an erudite, lyrical introduction to fully encapsulate the joy of High Society. It was even going to include an oh-so-clever play on words, but then Alan Carr's inimitable, fog horn voice shouted down every sentence that stumbled across the keyboard. I encountered Alan (OK, I stopped him like a fan) on the stairs after the curtain fell on the opening night of this wondrous production. We had never met before, but I needed to tell him that I was parachuted in to Harper Collins in 2007 to discuss me ghosting his autobiography. The job never went beyond that...
AND – ACTION! Opening credits to finally roll on new flagship Curzon for the King’s Road
After eight long years in the dark, the Curzon is coming back to the King’s Road - with grand plans to be a 21st century creative hub, as well as a state of the art cinema. The new venue - to be known simply as Curzon Chelsea - will be inside the redeveloped The Gaumont building and is scheduled to open as early as October. The original cinema, which had been in place since 1983, closed in 2018. Since then, the £235m redevelopment by Cadogan Estates has transformed this slice of the King's Road into cultural and retail hub, with entertainment spaces and apartments. The Citizen attended the...
The Roof Gardens dampens fire damage and gets ready to rock again
Less than 24 hours after flames tore through the legendary Kensington Roof Gardens, the club’s bosses have vowed it will reopen this week. A dramatic late-night inferno sparked a major emergency response as 80 firefighters in 12 engines raced to Kensington High Street, battling the blaze for more than two and a half hours after the alarm was raised at 12.57am on Monday. At one point, witnesses said the fire lit up the night sky above one of London’s glitziest postcodes. By first light, fire investigators were still on site probing the cause — which has not yet been disclosed. But on Monday...
The Last Bantam: A play about patriotism, prejudice, betrayal – and HEIGHT
The Last Bantam is a one-hour, one-man play that reveals the incredible and forgotten story of the ‘Bantam’ soldiers - 30,000 men between 5ft-5ft 3” who signed up to fight in the Great War. It is told through the eyes of Patrick Michael Wolfe, a Dubliner who joined the Bantams in 1915 to help secure Home Rule in Ireland. Here, playwright Michael Hughes, who performs his play at Drayton Arms Theatre as part of its national tour, reveals the story behind the work and its (albeit tenuous) connections to Kensington and Chelsea. The British army didn’t want short men. They had to be at least...
The Citizen Review: Indian Ink, Hampstead Theatre
'A quiet, multi-layered play with wit, warmth and melancholy that draws you in and leaves its mark. It has "rasa' in abundance' FOUR STARZ 1930, India. Flora Crewe, a noted Bloomsbury Group poet, undertakes a journey through India for her health. Free-spirited and without social inhibitions she unsettles most people she meets, but secretly captivates Nirad Das, a handsome Indian painter. 1980s England. Flora’s sister, Mrs Swan, is visited by an American biographer trying to uncover exactly what took place on the trip – and then Das’ son appears in her garden with a painting of Flora by his...
The Hari Hotel arts prize – the results are in
Belgravia’s five-star hotspot The Hari was the place to be last week as the art glitterati packed into the luxury hotel for the 2025 Hari Art Prize — with three rising stars walking away with a share of a £14,000 prize pot. Now in only its fourth year, the competition has grown into a popular and coveted art competition, with more than 1,500 hopefuls battling it out across sculpture, painting and installation. Hotel bosses say this year has been the biggest — and most fiercely contested — yet. Top honours went to Beth McAlester, whose hauntingly intimate painting about family and the legacy...
John Simpson: ‘Chelsea priest helped me through trauma of Iraq bombing’
Veteran news broadcaster John Simpson has spoken for the first time of the moment he sought solace from a Chelsea vicar as he struggled with the psychology fallout from a devastating bomb attack in Iraq. Simpson was covering the Iraq war in 2003 when he and his TV crew of four people were caught up in a "friendly fire" attack by the US air force. Simpson, now 82, was peppered with shrapnel across his face and body after a 1,000lb missile from a F-15 fighter jet exploded near his team. Simpson's interpreter - a 24-year-old Iraqi called Kamran - was horrifically injured in the blast and died...
Chelsea’s Culture and Entertainment
In our Culture and Entertainment section, we will keep your diary ahead of the curve on everything that is happening at the landmark institutions illustrated below.
We will develop a comprehensive guide to everything that is happening in Chelsea, from plays, concerts and art exhibitions, to specially curated cultural and historical events.
We will also bring you expert reviews of reviews of restaurants, bars and clubs – and any parties we manage to attend.
And watch out for our definitive Chelsea pub guide.
