KOKO began life as The Camden Theatre and was opened on Boxing Day 1900 by the famous actress Ellen Terry, with a seating capacity of 1600. In 1909 the theatre was renamed The Camden Hippodrome and was a variety theatre where famous names such as Charlie Chaplin appeared. In 1911 film seasons began and it became a proper cinema in 1913.
The Camden Palace continued to move with the times and in the 90s was home to a series of dance nights. It closed in February 2004 in much need of someone to put some love and care into a refurbishment -- and this is where we came in!
A six month, multimillion restoration project was undertaken to a the singular brief of creating a 21st Century entertainment venue from what was left of the glorious 19th Century building.