The History of the Thekla

The SS Thekla began as a German “Baltic Trader,” sporting a U-boat engine from the 2nd World War and a huge open hold from carrying grains around the world. She was adopted from Gateshead by Ki Longfellow-Stanshell, the wife of Vivian Stanshall, in 1982. The SS Thekla moored in the Floating Harbour of Bristol on August 4th, 1983, where she can still be found today. Also known as the Old Profanity Showboat, the Thekla was revamped into a theatre, music venue, and art gallery. Her opening night on May 1, 1984 was filmed as an Omnibus BBC 1 documentary by Tony Staveacre, and was broadcast as The Bristol Showboat Saga on September 30th that year.

It wasn’t long before the Old Pro gathered a reputation as the premier small theatre, jazz venue, folk club and cabaret of the West. She hosted over 240 theatrical productions, and in December 1985 ran a musical comedy written by Vivian Stanshall and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall called Stinkfoot. Stinkfoot attracted crowds from as far as the USA, and was most successful due to the unusual boat setting in which it was performed. Ki planned to sail the Thekla to New York City and continue hosting performances there, but by late 1986 running the showcase theatre proved to be to stressful and time-consuming.

The Thekla was closed down in August 1986. Daybrook House Promotions, the owners of Rock City in Nottingham, purchased the ship in October 2006 and performed an extensive refurbishment. They changed her name to ‘Thekla Social,’ and she continues to function as a nightclub and music venue in central Bristol where she as first moored in 1983. Banksy contributed to the refurbishment by adorning the side of the ship with a haunting skeleton rowing a boat.