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ACTING-PRO (Discussion Group for Professional Actors)
Updated January 4, 2008
Congratulations, you have won the British History Bronze Award. This award is given to outstanding Web Pages and recognises the hard work that was put into the development of your web site. My compliments on a job well done!
ONE HALF PRICE THEATRE TICKET WINDOW
The one-half price ticket booth is located in the clocktower building by the gardens in Leicester Square (Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus subway/tube stations). There is one window for matinees and one for evening performances. The hours of operation are: (Effective Sept 11/01 on its 21st birthday) Monday to Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Sundays 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The theatre listing, as in the others, includes not only current theatres, but theatres which have been demolished, or abandoned. Shows indicate productions I have seen in these theatres, bracketed headings at the first indicate the subway or tube stop nearest the theatre.
Roofed theatres erected for performances came late in theatrical history. Open-air theatres date back to the 5th Century, B.C., but it was not until the Renaissance that plays were produced indoors.
Before 1576 there were no proper theatres in London. The inner courtyards of Inns were used to present plays. In 1800 only nine playhouses in London were being used regularly - Drury Lane, Covent Garden, Haymarket Opera House, Haymarket Theatre, Sans Souci, Sadler's Wells, Astley's Amphitheatre, Royal Circus and the Royalty. Numbers tripled between 1800 and 1844, and by 1851 there were twenty-two theatres in use. George Frederick Handel between the years 1685 and 1738 played at Covent Garden Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre and King's Theatre, Haymarket.
Like New York, with the Shuberts, Nederlanders, Disney etc., the same situation applies to English Theatre. The three largest West End theatre owning/managing groups are: • The Really Useful Group and Partners - 13 Theatres - 15713 seats • Clear Channel Entertainment- 4 Theatres - 9769 seats • Ambassadors Theatre Group - 10 Theatres - 7059 seats Stoll Moss owns many of the West End's theatres, including such prestige houses as the Palladium, Garrick, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Her Majesty's, Lyric, Cambridge, Duchess and the New London. The Stoll Moss empire has just been sold to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Crescent owns 7 including Whitehall and the Comedy. The Apollo Leisure Group was just sold to the giant U.S. Group SFX Entertainment, and now owns the Apollo Victoria, Apollo Hammersmith, Lyceum as well as the Palace in Manchester and the Hippodrome in Bristol. As I write this SFX who owns 82 properties in the U.S. is making overtures at the British Theatre.
Currently there are 54 West End Theatres of which 40 of them are commercial enterprises.
NOTE: The term 'commercial West End' is generally taken to exclude the following 13 theatres: Barbican, Cottesloe, London Coliseum, Lyttelton, Olivier, Open Air, Peacock, Pit, Royal Court Downstairs, Royal Court Upstairs, Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells and Shakespeare's Globe. (The Westminster Theatre (585 seats) has now been removed from the above listing)
Sir Cameron Mackintosh's theatre portfolio of 7 theatres includes the Queen's, the Gielgud, the Prince of Wales, the Albery, Wyndham's, the Strand and The Prince Edward. Since the 1990's only two of these seven theatres have been operated by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres.
Prince of Wales Theatre's work will start this summer and the theatre will reopen in spring 2004. In March 2003 Delfont Macintosh Theatres will take back control of a third theatre, the Strand. Plans are near completion for the first stage of an extensive renovation to include the front-of-house areas. In each of these cases, the first priority is to expand and upgrade all public areas and facilities. Control of the other four theatres, two of which (the Albery and Wyndham's) are currently leased by the Ambassadors Group and a further two (the Queen's and the Gielgud) by Really Useful Theatres, will return to Cameron Mackintosh in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Plans are well advanced to upgrade these historic buildings appropriately and to equip to match the expectations of audiences in the twenty-first century. July 2005 - Andrew Lloyd Webber has sold four of his West End theatres - the Apollo, the Duchess, the Lyric and the Garrick - to Max Weitzenhoffer, who is joined in a new partnership with producer Nica Burns. They will take over the four theatres on 1st Octber/05, along with Weitzenhoffer's existing London theatre, the Vaudeville . The sale leaves Lloyd Webber with eight West End theatres - the Adelphi, the Cambridge, the Gielgud, Her Majesty's, the London Palladium, the New London, the Palace and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane; Adelphi is jointly owned by Really Useful Theatres and Nederlander International, whilst the Gielgud, along with the RUT offices which are in the same block (along with the Queen's), will soon revert back to its owner, Cameron Mackintosh, who is intending to build a new theatre, the Sondheim, which will be able to accept transfers from venues such as the Donmar Warehouse and the Cottesloe.
Longest running musical in London - Cats at the New London Theatre, followed by Starlight Express just entering its 17th year at the Apollo Victoria Theatre (opened in March, 1984).
QUICK GUIDE - A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z
ABC Cinema (Piccadilly) - being turned into cabaret venue - 400 seats (near Jermyn Street Theatre, which is also used for cabaret venues)
*Adelphi Theatre - (Charing Cross) Strand - (1476 seats) – 4th theatre on the site - opened as Sans Pareil in 1806 with Miss Scott's Entertainment 1806 - built above a dairy - 1818 reopened as Adelphi – names include Theatre Royal Adelphi (1830-1848); 1858 became Theatre Royal – Theatre Royal New Adelphi (1863-1867) – 1901 rebuilt as Century Theatre incorporating parts of 1887 theatre – 1902 back to Adelphi – New Adelphi opened 1930 - Dancing Mistress 1912; Girl From Utah 1913; Mr. Cinders 1929; Ever Green 1930; Nymph Errant 1933; Trojan Women 1937; Bless the Bride 1947; Auntie Mame (Beatrice Lillie) 1958; Blitz 1962; Maggie May 1964; Charlie Girl (Anna Neagle) 1965 (2200 perf); Little Night Music 1975; Sunset Boulevard 1993 (nearly 4 years); Chicago (revival) 1998
Admiral’s Men – 1585 – Theatre – company moved to Fortune Theatre – 1621 theatre burnt – 1631 company disbanded
Age Exchange – touring company aimed specifically at older people – performed in community centres, senior’s homes etc.
Albert Saloon, Hoxton - 1843-1851
*Albery Theatre - Albery will become the Noel Coward towards the end of 2006 when its work is completed - - (Leicester Square) St. Martin's Lane - built 1903 as The New Theatre - (883 seats) – Rosemary 1903; The Scarlet Pimpernel 1905; Henry of Navarre 1909; I’ll Leave it to You (Noel Coward) 1920; Saint Joan (Sybil Thorndike) 1924; The Constant Nymph (Noel Coward) 1926; Richard of Bordeaux (John Gielgud) 1933 (472 performances); 1941 became home to Old Vic and Sadler Wells; The School for Scandal (Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh) 1949; The Cocktail Party (Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton) 1950; The Millionairess (Katharine Hepburn) 1952; Oliver 1960 (2,618 performances)- name changed in 1973 to Albery - Anne of Green Gables 1965; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat 1973; Oliver (revival – ran 3 years) 1977; Candide 1977; Pal Joey 1981; Children of a Lesser God 1981; Torch Song Trilogy; Company (revival); Blood Brothers 1988; A Month in the Country (John Hurt, Helen Mirren) 1994; Five Guys Named Moe 1995; Private Lives (Alan Rickman) 2001; Blackbird 2006
Albion (Whitechapel)
Alcazar Music Hall - see Phoenix Theatre
*Aldwych Theatre -(Holborn/Covent Garden) Aldwych - opened 1905 with Bluebell in Fairyland (revival) - (1176 seats) – damaged during World War I – restored 1923 – home to farce - Gay Gordons 1907; Royal Shakespeare Company used as home (1960-1982) – September Tide (Gertrude Lawrence,Bryan Forbes) 1948; Streetcar Named Desire (Vivien Leigh) 1949; Under the Sycamore Tree (Alec Guiness)1952; The Homecoming; Pieces of Eight 1960 (300+); 1960 became home of Royal Shakespeare Company - Taming of the Shrew (Vanessa Redgrave) 1961; War of the Roses 1964; Homecoming 1965; London Assurance (Donald Sinden, Judi Dench) 1970 (transferred to New Theatre)(390); Travesties 1974; Zykovs (Paul Rogers,Mia Farrow) 1976; Privates on Parade 1977; Coriolanus 1979; Piaf (Jane Lapotaire) 1979; Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby (1980); Swan Down Gloves 1981; Andy Capp 1982; Whistle Down the Wind 1998; Secret Garden; Fame (10 years);
Aldwych Tube Station - situated in the Underground Station build 1898 and opened to public in 1907, then called Strand Station - Piccadilly Line was closed to passengers since 1994 - now used for small theatrical events with limited seating i.e. 50 in ticket booth area
Alexandra Palace - built 1873 - 2,500 seat theatre - Complicite is marking its 21st year by taking over one of London’s most imposing landmarks will spend the second half of 2004 raising the money to renovate Alexandra Palace to a degree where Complicite can perform there safely, before 2005 sees the company mount a piece about London society; Alexandra Palace was built in 1873 as a pleasure palace, which included a 2,500 seat theatre - restored 1920s and it was host to a number of pantomimes and previews of West End shows – including Gracie Field’s stage debut. From 1936 onwards, the BBC used the space as part of their television work, mostly as a props store. The 1980 Ally Pally fire left the theatre auditorium undamaged, although the dressing rooms were destroyed.After a turbulent history, "Ally Pally" as Londoners affectionately call it, has long been closed as a theatre. The "Pally" may serve as a semi-permanent home for Complicite for years to come
Alexandra Theatre – 3 theatres by this name; 1st Alexandra – hall in Highbury Barn 1861-1871; 2nd Alexandra – Park Street – Camden Town 1873 – 1879 became Park Theatre – burned down 1881 and never rebuilt; 3rd Alexandra in Stoke - Newington Road - built in 1897 – closed 1940 - demolished
Alhambra Palace Music Hall - Leicester Square – famous music hall – opened 1854 as exhibition centre – seating 3500 – changed to Palace; Music Hall; Theatre – as Alhambra in 1860 – 1882 burnt down – rebuilt – 1936 theatre demolished and Odeon Cinema erected on the site - Carmen 1903; Psyche 1909; Bing Boys are Here 1916
*Almeida - Almeida St., Islington (Angel Islington)
*Almeida at the Albery Theatre - (Leicester Square) St. Martin's Lane - Medea 1992
Almeida Theatre - built as science lecture theatre – 1837 – converted to theatre 1981-86 – 1st performance 1984 - Islington theatre will reopen spring 2003 after a multi-million pound refurbishment
Almost Free Theatre
*Ambassadors Theatre - see also New Ambassadors - West Street near St. Martin’s Lane - 1913 - (450 seats) - Rope (Brian Aherne) 1929; Mask of Virtue (Vivien Leigh) 1935 (117); Lace on Her Petticoat 1950 (190); Mousetrap (Richard Attenborough) opened here in 1952 before moving to St. Martin's in 1974; Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Shopping and F---ing 1996; being renamed Ambassadors June 2007
Apollo Hammersmith - 1932 – see London Apollo
Apollo Shaftesbury - see Apollo Theatre - 776 seats
*Apollo Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus)29 Shaftesbury Avenue - 1901 (775 seats)- Belle of Bohemia 1901; Girl From Kay's 1902; Treasure Hunt 1949 (11 months); Tiger at the Gates (Michael Redgrave) 1955; Boeing Boeing (3 years); Alpha Beta; Forty Years On 1968; Forget Me Not Lane 1971; Norman Conquests 1975 (700 performances); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2006 - Jan/05 - Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly in talks to sell some of his West End theatres. He currently owns eleven, making him the predominant West End theatre owner, but is considering selling The Apollo, The Garrick, The Duchess and The Lyric.
*Apollo Victoria - (Victoria) 17 Wilton Road - 1930 - (2208 seats) - opened as the New Victoria Cinema (2500)- converted to a theatre - closed in the 1950s and reopened in 1980 - Starlight Express opened 1984 (17 years when it closes January 12/02)- 2nd longest running musical in West End history; Movin’ Out (James Fox) 2006
Aquarium Theatre – see Imperial Theatre
Aquatic Theatre – see Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Arcola Theatre - 27 Arcola Street - converted textile factory on the borders of Stoke Newington/Dalston into one of London’s largest and most adaptable fringe venues
Argyll Rooms – see Trocadero Palace of Varieties
Arts Laboratory – Drury Lane 1968 – closed 1969
Arts Theatre – Arts Theatre - 1927 – 6-7 Great Newport Street – private club incorporated into theatre is to re-open historic 340-seat theatre, which was the first London home to the Royal Shakespeare Company and which marks its 75th anniversary in 2007, has been renovated and given a new lease of life - will host an eclectic mix of theatre, comedy, music and visual art shows - Arts Theatre faced demolition & may close as early as July 15/05 whole block being redeveloped for commercial - First Class Passengers Only (Edith Sitwell) 1927; first imporant production Young Woodley 1928 – transferred to commerical theatre; Chinese White 1929; in 1950s and 1960s important avant-garde theatre venue - Listen to the Wind 1955; Waltz of the Toreadors 1956; Comedy of Errors 1956; Four to the Bar 1961; Dirty Linen/New-Found-Land 1976 - played after engagement at Almost Free Theatre 1976 (1,667); Slice of Saturday Night 1989; was the first London home to the Royal Shakespeare Company which marks its 75th anniversary in 2007 - Built in 1927, the Arts started as theatre club to avoid the Lord Chamberlain’s stage censorship. In the 1940s and 50s, a young Peter Hall directed the UK premieres of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Eugene O'Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra and Jean Anouilh’s Waltz of the Toreadors. Other notable UK or world premieres have included Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane, O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh and Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer. From 1966 to 1988, following a short-lived inaugural capital venture for the RSC, the Unicorn Children’s Theatre set up residence at the Arts;2nd – Arts Theatre – see Cambridge
Astley's Amphitheatre - 1844-1865 known as Astley's Royal Amphitheatre of Arts; Astley's Royal Amphitheatre; Astley's; Europe's National Amphitheatre – South bank of Thames in Westminster Bridge Road – 1769 – originally open circus ring – 1784 covered amphitheatre built – fire 1794 and reopened 1795 as the Royal Grove – fire 1803 – rebuilt as Royal Amphitheatre – Blood-Red Knight; or Fatal Bridge 1810; Battle of Waterloo 1824; Buonaparte’s Invasion of Russia; or, the Conflagration of Moscow 1825 - fire 1830 – 1841 burnt down – rebuilt – 1862 renamed Theatre Royal, Westminster – reconstructed 1872/3 seating 2407 as Sanger’s Grand National Amphitheatre – closed 1893 and demolished 1895
Astoria Theatre- Atmospheric style – Elvis 1977; Hired Man 1984
Avenue Theatre - 1882 - see Playhouse - in 1933 and closed in 1951
Banqueting House - Whitehall – 1622 – venue for masques and plays
Battersea Palace - 1886-1924 – also known as Washington Battersea
Bedford Music-Hall – Camden High Street – built on part of tea garden of Bedford Arms – 1861 – 1168 seats – 1949 closed – demolished 1969
Beeston’s Boys – group of boy actors trained by William Beeston 1630s – used Salisbury Court until wrecked by Commonwealth soldiers in 1649
Belgrade Theatre – Coventry – 1958 – 900 seats – Belgrade Venue – stages experimental works
Belgravia Theatre – see Royal Court
Bell Tavern – in Gracious (now Gracechurch) – inn used as theatre - continued use as theatre until after 1583 – Queen Elizabeth’s Men performed here
Bel Savage Tavern on Ludgate Hill – inn used as theatre – Queen Elizabeth’s Men performed here – continued use as theatre until at least 1588
Belt and Braces – fringe theatre
BFI Southbank - see National Film Theatre
Bijou Theatre – were 2 small theatres of this name – 1st Bijou in Haymarket – concert hall attached to Royal Opera House (later Her Majesty’s Theatre) – burned down with Opera House 1876; 2nd Bijou – a hall in Archer Street, Bayswater – renamed Bijou in 1886 – Philanderer and You Never Can Tell 1898 and Man and Superman 1903 - renamed Century in 1925 – became a warehouse
Blackfriar's Playhouse - opened 1576 - in 1609 became the headquarters for the King's Men - destroyed in 1655
Blackfriar's Theatre – 2 theatres built within boundaries of old monastery – 1st 1576 part of building became theatre with plays given by choirboys – unused after 1584; in 1596 another theatre; theatres closed in 1642 – 2nd Blackfriars fell into disrepair after 1642 and demolished 1655 due to concern that masses could spread plague
Black Theatre – over 30 black Afro-Caribbean companies in Britain
Black Theatre Co-operative (BTC) – founded 1979 – originally used The Factory, Riverside and Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Black Theatre Forum
Blood Group – women’s experimental touring group founded 1980
Bloomsbury Theatre - 15 Gordon Street - 550 seats - UCL Bloomsbury was officially opened in 1968 as The Collegiate Theatre, and is owned and funded by University College London. The theatre was renamed in 1982 to reflect its geographical location, as well as the culltural associations of the name, as the Bloomsbury Theatre. In 2001 it was renamed again to integrate its position within the university as The UCL Bloomsbury
Boar’s Head – in Whitechapel - inn used as theatre as early as 1557 when lewd play “A Sack Full of News,” caused actors to be arrested – continued to be used until after 1616; a 2nd Boar’s Head, Middlesex, was is use between 1602 and 1608
*Bob Hope Theatre - Wythfield Road, Eltham
Boudoir Theatre - Orestes 1912
Bower Theatre, Lambeth - opened 1837 - closed 1877
Boy Companies – acting troupes of choirboys attached to the Chapels Royal in London & Windsor & St. Paul’s Cathedral – 16th and early 17th centuries formed important part of London’s theatrical world – as early as 1378 – but not until 1517 became regular dramatic group
*Bridewell Theatre - (St. Bride's Church - off Fleet Street near Blackfriars Station) - founded in 1994 - former indoor Victorian swimming pool - produces small scale musicals as well as plays - i.e. works of Sondheim - Pacific Overtures; Saturday Night 1997; Moving On 2000 - Launched January 1944 - losing home on Bride Lane as of January 2005 - closing down operations - 2005 - theatre itself has been given a new lease of life after two of London's major amateur companies, Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society (SEDOS - oldest amateur dramatic group in London, celebrates its 100th birthday in 2005) and the Tower Theatre Company (has been entertaining audiences in North London for over 70 years)
British Actors’ Equity Association – founded 1929
British Asian Theatre
British Drama League – founded 1919 – now known as British Theatre Association
British Film Institute - see National Film Theatre
British National Opera Company – formed 1922 – dissolved 1929
Brittania Music Hall – Southwark - see Rotunda
Brittania Theatre - High Street, Hoxton – originally Brittania Saloon with music hall entertainments – 1841 rebuilt in 1858 to seat 3923 - in 1923 became a cinema – demolished by bombs in 1940
Brixton Academy Theatre - Atmospheric style
Brixton Empress Theatre - 1898-1992 – also known as Empress, Express Theatre of Varieties, Enpress Music Hall, Granada Cinema, Carlton Grove, Brighton Terrace, Brixton
Brixton Theatre and Opera House - opened 1851 - Canterbury Theatre of Varieties 1904-1912 and 1914-1922 - destroyed 1942
Broadway - film theatre
Brunswick Theatre – see Royalty
Bubble Theatre Company – now called London Bubble – founded 1972 – touring company
Buckingham Palace Ballroom -built 1853-1855 for Queen Victoria - opened 1856 with a ball to celebrate the end of the Crimean War - state banquets, formal receptions, investitures, and concerts
Bull (Bishops Gate) – inn used as theatre – used for plays from about 1576 until after 1594 – Queen’s Men played here in 1583
Bush Theatre - considered off West End - in the Fringe and Firkin Pub, Shepherd's Bush Green (Shepherd's Bush) - founded 1972 above the Bush Pub - pub has changed hands but the theatre remains upstairs
Buskers – performers in city streets, beaches and seaside resorts – primarly Italian
Cabarets – form of entertainment, perhaps originated in the Weimar Germany of the 1930s, the music halls and night clubs of Britain i.e. Greek Street, Soho – late night cabaret club – now have Comedy Store and Comic Strip Club – pubs, like Jongleurs, Battersea, Hackney Empire – many cabarets in New York city, and other major centres keep the art form alive
Cafe de Paris - Noel Coward 1951
Camberwell Palace and Metropole Theatres - 1899-1956 – see Oriental Palace of Varieties
Cambridge Music Hall - Shoreditch -
*Cambridge Theatre - (Covent Garden) Earlham Street - 1930 - (1287 seats) - art deco – Charlotte’s Masquerade (Beatrice Lillie) 1930; On the Spot (Charles Laughton); Kong; Elizabeth of England; 1939 theatre became venue for trade shows and occasional concerts; Heartbreak House (Deborah Kerr) 1942; Peter Pan (Glynis Johns); A Night in Venice 1944; Sauce Piquant (Audrey Hepburn) 1950; Reluctant Debutante (Anna Massey,Celia Johnson,Wilfrid Hyde White) 1955 (752); Crooked Mile 1959 (164); Wrong Side of the Park (Margaret Leighton) 1960 (22 weeks); Billy Liar 1960; Signpost to Murder (Margaret Lockwood) 1962 (419); Half a Sixpence (Tommy Steele) 1963; Little Me 1964; The Judge 1967; Ann Veronica 1969; National Theatre season 1970; Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (Ingrid Bergman) 1971; West of Suez 1971; Behind the Fringe (Peter Cook,Dudley Moore) 1972; Tom Brown's Schooldays (Roy Dotrice) 1972; The Black Mikado (Michael Denison) 1974; The Three Sisters 1976; Anastasia 1976; Chicago 1977; Troubador 1978; The Last of Mrs Cheney (Joan Collins) 1980; One Mo’ Time 1981; Man and Superman (Peter O’Toole) 1983; Dear Anyone 1983; - restored in 1987 by Stoll Moss – Peter Pan 1987; D’Oyly Carte 1988; Budgie 1988; Return to the Forbidden Planet 1989; Sherlock Holmes – the Musical Ron Moody) 1989; Return to the Forbidden Planet (3 years) 1989 ;Chicago; Fame - the Musical 1995; Grease 1996; Great Balls of Fire 1999; 2000 became Really Useful Theatre - Beautiful Game 2000; Our House 2002; Jerry Springer – the Opera 2003; Something Wicked This Way Comes 2005; Dancing in the Streets 2005
Camden Festival - 1954
Camden Palace - see Royal Camden
Camden Theatre - – also known as Camden Hippodrome, Royal Camden, Music Machine, Camden Palace and currently Koko
Canterbury Arms – 1852 opened hall for musical programmes – adjacent to the Canterbury Music Hall
Canterbury Music Hall – Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth – 1852 – originally called Canterbury Hall – 1500 seats – demolished by bombs 1942
Capitol Theatre - Haymarket
Carlton Theatre - 1927 – 61-65 Haymarket - designed with cinema and stage use – unused – covered by large sign board - see Cinema
Catford Lewisham Hippodrome - 1911-1961
Central School of Speech and Drama – established 1906+
Century Theatre – see Adelphi and Bijou
Charing Cross Theatre – King William Street 1872– Rivals – first play of consequence - originally Polygraphic Hall – 1876 renamed Folly – 1895 demolished for extension of Charing Cross Hospital
Cheek by Jowl – British touring theatre company – founded 1981 – have performed in some 200 towns
Chelsea Palace Theatre - 1903-1957
Chelsea Theatre – see Royal Court
Chiswick Empire Theatre – Chiswick – see Music Hall - demolished
Cinema - new venue currently occupied by the Cineworld cinema on London's Haymarket in Piccadilly - built in 1927, the site was formerly known as the Carlton Theatre and was designed to be used as both a cinema and a playhouse - From Feb. 2/08, the building will return to its dual-purpose use when Brief Encounter, begins previews. The show will officially open on Feb. 17.The owners of the Cineworld will still have two cinema screens available after the main auditorium has been converted back to stage use - Cineworld, is considering accompanying the Brief Encounter with films from the 1940s
Cineworld - see Cinema - built 1927 as Carlton Theatre (see also)
Cirque de Soleil - Cirque du Soleil considers setting up a permanent home in London at the site of the one-time Millennium Dome in Greenwich
City of London Theatre – Norton Folgate – 2500 seats - there in 1837 – Pickwick Papers 1837; Royal City of London 1843; New City of London Theatre 1859 – 1871 destroyed by fire
City Palace of Varieties – Leeds – only surviving full-time music hall – restored to house BBC’s Good Old Days
City Pantheon – see City Theatre
City Theatre – Grub Street (later Milton) – converted chapel 1829/30 – name changed to City Pantheon 1830 – last used 1836 – became warehouse
Clapham Grand - 1900 – now used as nightclub – also known as Grand, New Grand Theatre of Varieties, Essoldo Cinema, Mecca Bingo, Grand Nightclub
Clean Break – touring company formed by women’s ex-prisoners – started 1978
Coal Hole Strand – song-and-supper club early 1800s
Coburg Theatre – see Old Vic
Cochrane - built on side of St. Martin’s College of Art - originally venue for student productions – 300+ seats
Cockpit – Drury Lane, Westminster – built for cockfights 1609 – converted to theatre 1616 – burnt down 1617 – rebuilt as Phoenix – closed 1642; 2nd – Gateforth Street – children’s theatre 1970 (120-240 seats)
Cockpit-in-Court – edge of St. James Park – converted to playhouse 1604 – reconstructed 1632 and 1660 but not used as theatre after 1664
*Coliseum - (Leicester Square) St. Martin's Lane - see London Coliseum – originally a Music Hall 1904 (2358 seats) – closed 1906 – reopened 1908 – White Horse Inn 1931; Vagabond King 1937 - closed again 1960 and reopened 1961 as cinema – 1968 modernized and taken over by Sadler’s Wells Opera Company
Collegiate Theatre - Dogg's Hamlet/Cahoot's Macbeth 1979
Collin’s Music Hall – 10 Islington Green – originally room in Lansdowne Arms Public House – used since 1851 – 1863 replaced by new building (600 seats) – 1897 rebuilt and enlarged for repertory theatre – damaged by fire 1958 and demolished – currently bookshop
Coliseum - 1904
Colosseum – Albany Street – Regent’s Park – 1830s – occasionally used for plays – closed 1840
*Comedy Theatre - (Leicester Square) Panton Street off Haymarket – 1881 - 796 seats - opened with series of light operas 1881 - Peg O’ My Heart (Laurette Taylor) 1914 (710 perf) - (796 seats) - reconstructed 1911, 1933 and 1954 - One Summer's Day 1897; Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman 1906 (351); For Better For Worse (Geraldine McEwan,Leslie Phillips) 1952 (607); Dear Love; View From the Bridge; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1956 to 1959); Day in the Death of Joe Egg 1967; Colette 1980; Gambler 1986; Steptoe & Son 2006
Community Theatre - using local halls, open-air etc.
Corinthian Bazaar - see London Palladium – also known as Henglers Grand Cirque, National Skating Palace, Royal Italian Circus
Coronet - 1898 – 103-111 High Street – built as theatre but became cinema
Cottesloe Theatre – 400 seats - see National Theatre – opened with Illuminatos 1977
Court Theatre – see Royal Court
Covent Garden Community Theatre
Covent Garden – Theatre Royal- see Royal Opera House – Bow Street – theatre here since 1732 (1897 seats) – Way of the World 1732 – 1782 gutted and reconstructed and again 1792 – 1808 theatre burnt down – rebuilt (2800 seats) – Timoor the Tarta 1811; Planche’s Cortez, or the Conquest of Mexico 1823; - theatre closed 1842 – reopened 1847 as Royal Italian Opera House (4000 seats) – burnt down 1856 – new theatre opened 1858 – 1970 seating increased to 2158 – renamed Royal Opera 1892
*Criterion Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus) Piccadilly Circus – originally adjunct to Spiers and Pond’s Criterion Restaurant - 1873 - (591 seats) – reconstructed 1883 and closed as unsafe - An American Lady 1895 and closed again in 1903 - built entirely underground- restored in 1992 - French Without Tears; became cinema 1934 and converted to BBC studio in 1939 - reopened in 1992 refurbished - Clean Kill (Rachel Roberts) 1959 (142); Absurd Person Singular; Butley 1971; Tomfoolery 1980; Run for Your Wife as of 1987 over 1,800 performances; Real Inspector Hound; Play's The Thing 1995 (49);
Cross Keys – inn used as theatre – Gracechurch Street , near the Bell, before 1579 until about 1596 – Strange’s Men played here 1589 and 1594
Crouch End Hippodrome - 1896-1940 - – also known as Crouch End Opera House, Queens Hill, Hippodrome
Croydon Grand Theatre - Built 1896 - used for melodrama and light plays. In the 1920s used as a touring venue. Closed 1940-1942 – after World War II used for seasons of repertory drama and an annual pantomime until 1957 - demolished in 1959
Croydon Empire - 1896-1959
Croydon Hippodrome - see Croydon Empire
Crystal Palace - 1851-1936
Curtain Theatre - in existence in late 1500s – in Curtain Close, Finsbury Fields, Shoreditch - see the Globe – Romeo and Juliet 1595; Henry V 1599 - from 1603-1609 Queen Anne’s Men occupied it – not used after 1622
Cyder Cellars – song-and-supper club early 1800s
Daly's Theatre - 1893 -1937 – Cranbourn Street, on the site of Warner West End - Leicester Square – 600 seats – Taming of the Shrew 1893; Maid of the Mountains (1352 perf); Artist's Model 1895; Merry Widow 1907; Merveilleuses 1906; Sirocco(Ivor Novello)1927(28) – closed 1937 – now Warner Cinema
Davenant’s Lincoln’s Inn Fields - – tennis court theatre 1661
Davis’s Royal Amphitheatre – see Astley’s Amphitheatre
Denhof Opera Company – 1910 – London touring company
Deptford Broadway Theatre - built 1897 - 1911 converted to cinema, renamed "Granada Cinema"- demolished in the 1960s for shops
Derngate Theatre - Arts and Conference Centre
*Dominion Theatre - (Tottenham Court Road) Tottenham Court Road - 1929 – 200+ seats – nearly 3000 in 1930s – formerly huge brewery site - designed for both theatre and film house - 1958 Todd-AO equipment installed - saved from demolition as part of office development in 1990 and restored instead - art deco exterior and interior – Time 1986; Bernadette 1990; Grand Hotel; Grease (3 years); Beauty and the Beast; Notre Dame de Paris; We Will Rock You 2005
*Donmar Warehouse - (Covent Garden) 41 Earlham Street - originally a stable, then brewery - became film studio in 1920 and converted to theatre in 1960 – 252 seats – 1961 on used as rehearsal space - Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood 1985; Noel and Gertie 1986; Load of Old Sequins 1987; renovated in 1992 – Fix 1997; Cabaret; Blue Room 1998; The Cut (Ian McKellen) 2006; – one of London’s leading producing theatres – since 1992 has received 29 Olivier Awards, 17 Critic’s Circle Awards, 9 Evening Standard Awards as well as 12 Tony Awards from 8 Broadway productions
Dorset Garden Theatre – also known as Duke’s, or Duke of York’s, fronted Thames to South of Salisbury Count – 1671 – opened with Sir Martin Mar-All 1671 - theatre deserted 1682 – 1689 renamed Queen’s Theatre – demolished 1709
D’Oyly Carte Opera Company – founded 1876 – based at Savoy Theatre after 1881
Drill Hall - Chenies St – 1882 – 1975 section of building became theatre and 1984 theatre moved to main hall – 200 seats
*Drury Lane, Theatre Royal - (Covent Garden)- London’s most famous theatre – now the 4th on this site – 1st Opened in 1663 as Theatre Royal, Brydges Street (2188 seats)- Humorous Lieutenant 1663 - 1666 theatre closed re plague and Great Fire – damaged by fire in 1672 - new theatre designed by Sir Christopher Wren opened in 1674 – 2nd Theatre Royal in Drury Lane (2000 seats) – 1674 – closed 1676 and again 1709 – Loves of Mars and Venus 1717; major alterations 1775 – 1780 damaged during Gordon Riots – 3rd - 1791 theatre rebuilt (3611 seats) – opened 1794 – burnt down 1809 – 4th – 2283 seats – opened 1812 – 1921-2 interior reconstructed - School for Scandal; Catherine Street - torn down in 1791 and rebuilt with seating for 3,500 - replaced by present structure in 1812 - 2237 seats - making it the oldest theatre in England that is still in use – The Whip 1909; Pageant of Drury Lane 1918; Cavalcade 1931; Glamorous Night 1935; Careless Rapture 1936; Dancing Years 1939; Pacific 1860 1946; From 1947 to 1958 Drury Lane had only 5 American musicals, which accounted for 16 years of the theatre - Oklahoma 1947 (1,548); Carousel 1950 (566); South Pacific 1951 (802); King and I 1953 (926); My Fair Lady (over 2000 performances) 1958; Four Musketeers 1967; Mame (Ginger Rogers) 1969; Great Waltz 1970 (2 years); Gone With the Wind 1972; Billy 1974; A Chorus Line 1976 (over 2 ½ years); Evening with Alan Jay Lerner 1987; Miss Saigon 1989; Witches of Eastwick 2000; Forty Second Street 1984; Chorus Line; Miss Saigon (broke My Fair Lady's record); The Producers 2005
*Duchess Theatre - (Covent Garden) Catherine Street, off Aldwych - 1929 (476 seats) – 1919 housed productions by People’s National Theatre Co - Night Must Fall 1935; Corn is Green 1938; The Deep Blue Sea 1952; Caretaker 1960; Isabel’s a Jezebel 1970; Collaborators, Dirtiest Show in Town; Oh Calcutta 1974 to 1980; No Sex Please We're British; Glorious 2005; - Jan/05 - Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly in talks to sell some of his West End theatres. He currently owns eleven, making him the predominant West End theatre owner, but is considering selling The Apollo, The Garrick, The Duchess and The Lyric.
*Duke of York's Theatre - (Leicester Square) St. Martin's Lane - 1892 (650 seats) - built as Trafalgar Square Theatre 900 seats – The Wedding Eve 1892; Master Builder 1893 - changed its name in 1895 to Duke of York’s - Madame Butterfly/Miss Hobbs 1900; The Admirable Crichton 1902; Peter Pan 1904 (revived every Christmas until 1915); Enchanted Cottage 1922 (64); Easy Virtue Noel Coward) 1926; Jew Suss (Peggy Ashcroft); Madame Butterfly 1932; damaged during WW I – closed 1940-43 - Shadow and Substance 1943; Moby Dick (Joan Plowright) (1950s); The Happy Marriage (1950s); Point of Departure (Mai Zetterling, Dirk Bogarde) (1950s); House by the Lake 1956 (928); One Over the Eight (1960s); The Killing of Sister George (Beryl Reid, Eileen Atkins) 1965; Relatively Speaking (Celia Johnson, Michael Hordern) 1960s; Seagull 1975; Half Life (John Gielgud); Clouds (Tom Courtenay); - closed 1979 for refurbishment – Rose (Glenda Jackson) 1980; Duet For One 1981; American Buffalo (Al Pacino); Stepping Out; Shirley Valentine 1989 (over 2 years); Death and the Maiden 1992; Oleanna 1993; The Rocky Horror Show 1996; Beautiful Thing; Broken Glass; Royal Court season 1995; The Man Most Likely To; The Changing Room 1995; The Weir 1996 (2 years); Stones in His Pocket 2000 (3 years); After Mrs. Rochester; Sweet Panic; Calico; The Holy Terror; Dirty Blonde; Journey’s End; The Dresser; Hedda Gabler; Tom, Dick and Harry; I Am My Own Wife; Embers (Jeremy Irons) 2006
Duke's Theatre – see Holborn Theatre - built 1671 by Sir Christopher Wren, on the former grounds of Dorset House (which had been destroyed by the Great Fire) – 1000 seats - known as "Dorset Garden Theatre" - used by "The Duke's Players" - after 1682 used for entertainment shows, wrestling, and musical competitions - 1689 renamed "Queen's Theatre” - demolished 1709
Dust Hole – see Scala Theatre
Eagle Tavern – situated on City Road – 1844 – music hall of the era – small hall attached to the Public House
Ealing Theatre - 1899 as "Ealing Hippdrome" - later renamed "Ealing Theatre" - 1906 rebuilt - later named "Lyric Palladium" - demolished 1958
East London Theatre – see Royalty
Eden Palace of Varieties – see Kingsway
Effingham Theatre, Stepney (changed to East London Theatre)-built in 1834 and closed in 1897
Elephant & Castle Theatre, Southwark - opened 1872 – Newington Butts - closed 1928 - 1932 became a cinema
Embassy Theatre – Hampstead – 1928 – opened with Yellow Streak 1928 – damaged by bombing Second World War – closed 1957 and taken over by Central School of Speech and Drama
Emma Abbott English Opera Company – found 1878 – toured – 35 new opera houses were dedicated by this company
Empire Islington - 1860 on Music Hall – also known as Philharmonic Hall, Philharmonic Theatre, Grand Theatre Islington, Islington Empire
Empire Theatre – Wood Green – Leicester Square – famous music hall – originally theatre 1884-1886 housed burlesque – on site of Saville House, home of George II when Prince of Wales – 1887 became Empire Theatre of Varieties – successful musical comedies like Lilac Domino began long run – Irene 1920; Rebel Maid 1921; Lady Be Good 1926 - 1927 closed – demolished and replaced by cinema – closed and gutted 1961 – interior reconstructed as cinema and dance hall; 2nd – Empire – Islington – see Grand Theatre
Empire Theatre - now site of Empire Cinema - stands on site of Saville House - burned down 1865; the Alcazar opened 1883 Empire dates from the 1890s
Empire Theatre - Badham – 1902-1909 - also known as Badham Hippodrome, Duchess Palace, Duchess Theatre
Empire Theatre Kingston - 1910-1956 - – also known as New Empire
Empress Brixton - 1898-1992 – also known as Empress Theatre, Empress Theatre of Varieties, Empres Music Hall, Granada Cinema, Carlton Grove, Brighton Terrace, Brixton
Emsbury Park Empire - 1910-1965
English Comedians – troupes of English actors who toured the continent during late 16th and early 17th centuries
English National Opera – previously Sadler’s Wells Opera Company – opened 1974
English Opera Group – formed 1947 – reformed 1975 as English Music Theatre Company
English School Theatre – established 1936 – childrens’ theatre
English Stage Company (at the Royal Court) – started 1956 at the Royal Court – 1969 Theatre Upstairs opened
Entertainments National Service Association – formed 1938-9 to provide entertainment for British and Allied armed forces and war workers during World War II – headquarters at Drury Lane Theatre
*Etcetera Theatre Club - Oxford Arms Pub - 265 Camden High Street (Camden Town) - 5 or 6 rows of seats
Euston Music Hall – see Regent Theatre
Euston Theatre of Varieties - 1900-1960 – also known as Euston Palace of Varieties, Euston Theatre, Euston Music Hall, Regent Theatre
Evans’s – King Street, Covent Garden – best known song-and-supper room – 1820 – closed 1880 – 1934 taken over by Players’ Club
Everyman Theatre – Hampstead – 1920-1926 – originally a drill hall - 1947 converted to cinema – opened with Bonds of Interest 1920; Getting George Married (Rex Harrison)1930;
Expressionism - associated with Germany and the likes of Buchner, Wedekind and Strindberg
Fairs – Saint Bartholomew, Smithfield, Southwark, Greenwich, Mayfair – always theatrical entertainments i.e. puppet shows
Farce/Light Comedy - began at Whitehall Theatre in 1942
*Finborough Theatre - located above a pub at 118 Finborough Road, London (Earl's Court) - has been a fringe venue for about 20 years - since 1994 the resident company is Steam Industry
Finsbury Park Empire Theatre – demolished
Fitzroy Theatre – see Scala Theatre
Foco Novo – fringe theatre – British touring company founded 1972 – ceased producing in 1988 after Arts Council withdrew funding
Folies-Dramatiques - see Kingsway Theatre
Folly Theatre – see Charing Cross Theatre
Foresters Music Hall - 1870-1965
Fortune Theatre- Golden Lane, Cripplegate, Clerkenwell – 1600 – to house Admiral’s Men (1000 seats – 1621 burnt down – reopened 1602 – 1649 interior dismantled – demolished 1661 due to concern of masses spreading plague;
2nd – *Fortune Theatre - (Covent Garden) Russell Street - 1924 (440 seats); built on site of old Albion Tavern – based on Shakespeare’s Fortune Theatre – first theatre to be built in London after World War I - 2001 - purchased by Ambassador Theatre Group (Duke of York's, Picadilly, Phoenix, New Ambassador's and Comedy as well)- The Sinners 1924 (2 weeks); On Approval 1927 (469); The Promise (Judi Dench,Ian McShane,Ian McKellen) 1967 (289) ; At the Drop of a Hat 1957 (over 700 perf.); Beyond the Fringe (Dudley Moore,Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett) 1961 (1184); Mr. Cinders; Double Double; Nunsense; Dangerous Obsession; Fortune 1967 (nearly 300 perf); Suddenly at Home 1971; Murder in the Vicarage 1976 - transferred from Savoy; Suddenly at Home; The Woman in Black 1989 (17th year 2006);
Franco-British Exhibition: Palace of Music - 1908 for the Franco-British Exhibition that took place at the same time as the 1908 Olympic Games in nearby "White City Stadium" - subsequently used by other exhibitions - later area was used partly by the BBC, partly as a housing estate. 1995 the "White City" was bought by a building society that plans to convert the site into a huge shopping centre
Frederick's (Late Wilson's) Royal Palace of Varieties - opened 1850 and closed by fire in 1877 – see Wilton’s
Fringe Theatres – well over 50 fringe theatres in London – seating ranging from 40 to 200 seats – few actually built as theatres – King’s Head, Islington; Soho Poly; Orange Tree at Richmond; Bush at Shepherd’s Bush; Half Moon at Towers Hamlets; Foco Novo, Shared Experience; Belt and Braces; Hull Truck; Pip Simmons Theatre Group; Joint Stock; 7:84 Theatre Companies (1971)
Fulham Grand Theatre – see Grand Theatre - built 1897 - closed ca. 1950 - demolished in 1958
Gaiety Theatre - on site of Citibank House between Catherine St. & Wellington St – East end of Strand – opened as Strand Musick Hall 1864 – closed 1866 – new building erected 1126 seats as Gaiety in 1868 – burlesque – demolished 1903; 2nd Gaiety – nearby with 1267 seats – 1903 – closed 1939 – demolished 1957 - Circus Girl 1896; Orchid 1904; Our Miss Gibbs 1909; Theodore & Co 1916; 3rd – Gaiety 1903 – demolished 1957
Garden Theatre, Dorset - 1671
Garrick Club – gentlemen’s club – 700 members with strong theatrical associations – 1831 – present club house opened 1864 – Old Rose Street
Garrick Theatre - (Charing Cross) Charing Cross Road - there in 1889 - (656 seats) - built by W.S. Gilbert - river runs under the foundations – Profligate 1890; long run with A Pair of Spectacles; Fairy's Dilemma 1904; Lady With a Lamp (Edith Evans) 1929 (22 weeks); Living for Pleasure 1958; Cindy-Ella or I Gotta Shoe 1962; Sing a Rude Song; Death Trap 1978-1981; No Sex Please We're British; An Inspector Calls 1995; You Never Can Tell 2006; 4th Gaiety Theatre – 70 Leman St., Whitechapel – 1831 – burnt down 1846 – rebuilt and reopened 1854 – building fell into disuse after 1881; - Jan/05 - Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly in talks to sell some of his West End theatres. He currently owns eleven, making him the predominant West End theatre owner, but is considering selling The Apollo, The Garrick, The Duchess and The Lyric.
Gate Theatre - considered off West End - above Prince Albert Pub - 11 Pembridge Road, Notting Hill Gate (Notting Hill Gate) - started 1979 - flexible seating - 65 seats; 2nd Gate Theatre – experimental theatre club in Florat Street, Covent Garden – 96 seats – 1925 – opened with Bernice - moved to Villiers Street, off Strand; 3rd Gate opened 1927 – 1941 extensively damaged by bombing and never reopened
Gatti’s Villiers Street – 1856 – restaurant demolished for Charing Cross Station – reopened in Westminster Bridge Road 1865 – licenced music hall – also formed Gatti’s-Under-the-Arches (original nicknamed Gatti’s-Over-the-Water) – rebuilt 1893 (1183 seats) as Gatti’s Palace of Varieties – closed 1924 – demolished 1950; Gatti’s-Under-the-Arches was renamed Hungerford Music Hall 1883 and later Charing Cross Music Hall – closed 1903 and in 1910 became cinema – 1927-41 part of site was Gate Theatre and 1946 another part became Players’ Theatre
Gay Sweatshop – British theatre company founded 1975
George Inn - 77 Borough High Street – London’s last surviving fragment of a galleried inn – old part dates from 1670s – plays occasionally performed here
Gibbons’ Tennis Court – see Vere Street Theatre
* Gielgud - (Piccadilly Circus) Shaftesbury Avenue - 1906 – originally stood as half and Quen’s Theatre was other half - (888 seats) as the Hicks - renamed The Globe in 1909 - Our Betters (over 500 perf); Fallen Angels; The Lady's Not for Burning 1949; Man for All Seasons; Private Ear, the Public Eye 1962 (549); Play It Again Sam (Dudley Moore) 1969; renamed Gielgud in 1994 to celebrate Sir. John's 90th birthday; Lettuce and Lovage; The Graduate
Globe Theatre – 1st - Shakespeare's Globe - built originally as the Theatre in Shoreditch, 1576, by James Burbage - Shakespeare's company moved across the road to the Curtain Theatre in 1597 - later moved and rebuilt the wooden "O" in 1599 near the Rose Theatre, not more than 200 yards from where the Globe stands today; Moved: To Bankside, 1599, by Cuthbert Burbage, and named the new Globe Theatre - opened with Julius Caesar (1,500 seats and standing) Destroyed: By fire, 1612, during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII, thanks to the thatched roof – reopened 1614 until 1642 - demolished: By the Puritans in 1644 – 2nd – 1800 seat Newcastle Street near Opera Comique – 1868 – Cyril’s Success 1868 - demolished 1902; Re-construction: Work begins on the building in 1992, completed in 1997 - Costs: Old - £700 to build, New - £10 million is still needed to complete the next three phases of the project - Capacity: Old - approx 3000, New - 1600 Other famous Globes: 2nd Globe Theatre, Strand, built in 1868 by Sefton Parry, and closed due to fire risk in 1902. The 3rd Globe, Shaftesbury Avenue, opened 1906 (as the Seymour Hicks Theatre), with The Beauty of Bath (transferred from Adelphi) - re-named the Globe in 1909 and became the Gielgud in 1994; - reopened with new theatre in Southwark in 1996 - Fallen Angels (Tallulah Bankhead,Edna Best)1925 (158); Ring Round the Moon 1950 (682); After the Ball 1954; Private Ear/Public Eye (Maggie Smith) 1962 (549); Notes on a Love Affair; Match Girls 1966; Chez Nous (Albert Finney,Denholm Elliot,Geraldine McEwan) 1974;Rear Column (Jeremy Irons,Simon Ward) 1978 (44); Songbook 1979; Mitford Girls 1981; 4th Globe (Shakespeare’s Globe) *Shakespeare’s Globe - (London Bridge/Mansion House) New Globe Walk,Bankside - 900 seats
Globe Theatre - Eighty in the Shade (Sybil Thorndike) 1959; Chez Nous (Albert Finney,Denholm Elliot,Geraldine McEwan) 1974 (over a season);
Golder’s Green Hippodrome - 1913 – currently BBC recording and broadcasting studio
Goodman’s Fields Theatre – Ayliffe Street, Whitechapel – 1727 in converted shop – The Recruiting Officer 1727 - closed 1751 to become warehouse – burnt down 1802; 2nd opened 1732 – closed but reopened 1740 – closed 1742
Grace Theatre - Latchmere Pub, 503 Batterse Park Road, London (Clapham Junction) - seats about 80
Grand Harmonic Hall - Southwark Bridge Road – see Surrey Theatre – also known as Surrey Music Hall, Winchester Music Hall
Grand Theatre – Islington High Street – opened 1870 as Philharmonic Music-Hall – destroyed by fire 1883 – reopened as Grand Theatre – burnt down 1887 and again in 1900 – 1908 became Islington Empire and in 1932 became cinema; 2nd in Putney Bridge Approach – opened 1897 as Fulham Grand – renamed Fulham Theatre 1906 – 1933 as Shilling Theatre – demolished 1958; 2nd Grand – 1900 – St. John’s Hill - opposite Clapham Junction near Battersea Arts Centre – last in use as music venue – currently shut after housing bingo and concert venues
Granville Theatre – Waltham Green – demolished
Grapes – Southwark Bridge Road – 1856 – became Winchester Music Hall
Great Queen Street Theatre – see Kingsway Theatre
Grecian Theatre – Shepherdess Walk – 1830 – situated in pleasure grounds of Eagle Saloon – reconstructed 1858 (3400 seats) – 1872 restored – sold to Salvation Army 1881
Green Room Club – Adam Street – social club formed 1866
Greenwich Prince of Wales Theatre - built 1855 as Rose and Crown Music Hall, then Crowders Music Hall, then Greenwich Hippodrome, 1924 became a cinema
Greenwich Theatre – 1709 – Church Street – Love Makes a Man 1710; 2nd Greenwich – 75 London Road – 1864 (721 seats) – converted to cinema 1910 – demolished 1937; 3rd - on Stockwell Street, Croom’s Hill – was a concert hall attached to Rose and Crown Public House which opened 1855 – rebuilt 1871 and became Crowder’s Music-Hall & Temple of Varieties; 1879 became Parthenon Theatre of Varieties – 1885 theatre rebuilt – 1911 Greenwich Hippodrome – closed 1924 – later became cinema – then warehouse - closed after bomb damage in 1949 – 1960s became theatre once again - – revamped to 426 seats and reopened 1969
Griffin – Shoreditch High Street – 1856 and was renamed London Music Hall in 1894 and from 1916-1935 known as Shoreditch Empire – now demolished
*Hackney Empire - 291 Mare Street - opened December 1901 (2,158 seats) - The Hackney Empire will at last re-open after refurbishment which began in 2001. The opening will be celebrated on 28th January and the first production in the 2000-seater will be Opera International's Tosca, previously seen at the Royal Albert Hall - One of London's most famous early 20th century music halls will throw open its doors again after a two-year restoration - The Hackney Empire -- where Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields once trod the boards -- has been saved from decay
Half Moon – Tower Hamlets – fringe theatre
Hammersmith Apollo - see London Apollo
Hammersmith Palace Theatre – Hammersmith - demolished
*Hampstead Theatre - considered off West End - Hampstead Parish Church - Church Row, London - founded in 1976 – Days of Hope 1991; 2nd Hampstead Theatre - Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage - opening February 2003 with Safari Party – Best of Friends 2006
Hampstead Theatre Club – opened 1959 at Moreland Hall – The Room and The Dumb Waiter (1960); Jacques 1961 - 1962 moved to Swiss Cottage – 1970 moved again (157 seats) - His Monkey Wife 1971
Hampton Court Palace Theatre – Great Hall used for theatricals from 1572 onwards – stage survived until 1798, but last performance was 1731
Handel Opera Society - 1955
*Hanover Grand Theatre - 6 Hanover Street (Oxford Circus)
*Haymarket, Theatre Royal - (Piccadilly Circus) Haymarket – 1720 a little theatre built on site of old King’s Head Tavern – first performance 1720 by visiting French company – stood empty until 1747 – present theatre opened 1821 a little south of old building (894 seats) - An Ideal Husband 1895; Hamlet (John Barrymore) 1925 (67); Waters of the Moon (Edith Evans,Sybil Thorndike,Wendy Hiller) 1951 (835); Voyage Round My Father 1971; Crown Matrimonial 1972; Case in Question 1975 (254); Odd Couple; Streetcar Named Desire; 2nd Haymarket Theatre – Leicester – 1973 – 710 seats – Cabaret and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat first seatson - theatre closed at the end of July, 2003 after amassing debts of £450,000. It is due to reopen next year after Arts Council bosses approved a recovery plan which involves the Haymarket dramatically reducing its operating costs - As of June/04 Leicester's Haymarket has announced full details of its new programme that includes the reopening of the theatre which has been dark for the past year – A Man For All Seasons 2006;
Heaven - Villiers Street - venue isn't a conventional theatre, but rather the gay London nightclub - Hedwig and the Angry Inch - part of the Pride Festival 2005 between June 17 and July 1/05
*Hen and Chickens Theatre - 109 St. Paul's Road, Highbury, London (Highbury/Islington) - reoped in 1998 - 7 or 8 rows of seats
*Her Majesty's Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus) Haymarket - 1705 (1219 seats) - as the Queen's Theatre – Confederacy 1705; Rinaldo 1711; became opera house – 1714 name changed to King’s – Jupiter in Argos 1739; Esther 1732 - destoyed by fire 1789 - King's Theatre 1791 – 1837 renamed Her Majesty’s; burnt down 1867 – reopened as Her Majesty's 1868 – rebuilt again and reopened 1877 – closed 1891 and was demolished – 2nd Her Majesty’s Theatre -1283 seats opened in 1897 – Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts started here – theatre built as rival to Drury Lane - name alternates between His Majesty and Her Majesty - Mystery of Edwin Drood 1908; Pygmalion (Mrs. Patrick Campbell,Herbert Beerbohm Tree) 118; Chu Chin Chow 1916 (over 2000 perf); Beau Geste (Laurence Olivier) 1929; Bitter Sweet; Brigadoon 1947; Paint Your Wagon 1953; West Side Story 1958 (1040); Bye Bye Birdie (Chita Rivera,Peter Marshall) 1961 (268); Fiddler on the Roof 1967 (over 2000 perf); Amadeus 1981; Bye Bye Birdie 1961 (268); Right Honourable Gentleman (Anthony Quayle) 1964 (17 month run); Good Companions 1971; Pericles (Derek Jacobi) 1974; By Jeeves 1975; Thomas and the King 1975; Bar Mitzvah Boy 1978; Travelling Music Show 1978; Phantom of the Opera has been resident since 1986
Hick’s Theatre – see Globe Theatre
Hippodrome - 1900 - Cranbourn Street & Charing Cross Road - now the Hippodrome Nightclub – opened 1900 as a circus and contained a huge water tank for naval, high dives, snow storms etc – became a music hall in 1909 - from 1949-1951 French-type music hall, and in 1958 became Talk of The Town with featured entertainers – closed 1982 - Round in Fifty 1922 (47); It's a Leap Year 1924 (471); Bet Your Life 1952 – now Leicester Square nightclub
His Majesty's - see Her Majesty's – Chu Chin Chow 1916; Bitter Sweet 1929; Beau Geste 1929 (Laurence Olivier)Converation Piece 1934;
Holborn Empire Theatre – High Holborn – opened Weston’s Music-Hall 1857 – renamed Royal Music Hall 1868 – rebuilt 1887 as Royal Holborn – closed 1905 – reopened 1906 as Holborn Empire – 1941 damaged in war – demolished 1960; 2nd – Holborn Theatre – 42 High Holborn – 1866 – opened with The Flying Scud - reopened 1875 as the Mirror – 1876 became Duke’s – destroyed by fire 1880
Holloway Empire Theatre, Islington - opened in 1899 - used as a cinema by 1924
Hope Theatre (The Bear Garden) – Bankside, Surrey – brick and wood similar to Swan Theatre – built 1613 as theatre and a bull and bear baiting ring - burnt down 1613 – reopened with Bartholomew Fair 1614 – 1617 became Bear Garden – demolished 1682 or after; - remains of the Hope theatre 1614, which stood near the Globe and the Rose in the seventeenth century, have also been discovered and are being examined. The South Bank area was a flourishing one for playhouses at the time of Shakespeare as the land was outside the City of London and the jurisdiction of its relatively Puritan authorities
Hounslow Arts Company – operative – abandoned
Hoxton Hall - 130 Hoxton St - built 1863 as Mortimer’s Hall – 1867 became Macdonald’s Hall – survived as theatre until 1871 then became Temperance Hall and later a Quaker Hall
Hoxton Varieties - 1869 – still standing
Hull Truck – fringe theatre
Ideas Foundry - Seven well known London theatre figures are to combine their talents in a new company, The Ideas Foundry, which will launch on 5th April/05. Focused on creating new work for theatre, film and television, it is "dedicated to forging new work and collaborative relationships between talented people with exciting ideas thereby creating exhilarating theatre and cross-media entertainment of significant artistic and commercial value."
Ilford Hippodrome – demolished
Imperial Palace Canning Town - see Imperial Theatre Westminster
Imperial Theatre – Tothill Street – originally Aquarium Theatre, part of exhibition palace, Royal Aquarium Winter Garden – theatre opened 1876 – 1879 changed to Imperial – 1906 theatre demantled and taken to Canning Town – re-erected as Imperial Palace – later became cinema and destroyed by fire 1931
Imperial Theatre Westminster - – also known as Aquarium Theatre, Royal Aquarium Theatre, Royal Albert Music Hall
Independent Theatre Club – see Kingsway Theatre
Inns – used as theatres – Bell (Gracechurch) – in use until after 1583; Bel Savage (Ludgate Hill) – used until at least 1588; Boar’s Head (Whitechapel) – used until after 1616; Bull (Bishopsgate) – 1576-1594; Crosskeys – (Gracechurch) – 1579-1596; Red Bull (Upper Street) – 1605; Red Lion (Stepney) – 1567; Saracen’s Head (Islington) – 1583
Institute of Contemporary Art - contains simple black box theatre
Interaction – founded 1968
Islington Empire – see Grand Theatre
Ivor Novello Theatre - see Strand Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre - 16B Jermyn Street, Piccadilly – cabaret venue
Joint Stock Theatre Group – fringe theatre – British touring theatre company founded 1974
Jordell Theatre – see Kingsway
Killigrew’s Vere Street Theatre – tennis court theatre - 1660
King’s Concert Rooms – see Scala Theatre
King's Head Theatre Club - considered off West End - 115 Upper Street, Islington (Angel) - its heritage goes back to mid 1500s and the time of Shakespeare - first dinner theatre in the U.K. - current incarnation goes back to mid 1970s - elements like seating, curtains and lighting are from such prestigious theatres as Royal Haymarket, Lyric Shaftesbury and Scala Theatre - King's Head is London's first pub theatre and has blazed a trail for subsequent fringe theatres for some 30 years, under the direction of Dan Crawford – Nashville New York 1979; Secret Garden 1987; Saint She Ain’t 1999
King’s Theatre – Hammersmith Road – 1902 – 1700 seats – closed 1955 and sold to BBC – demolished 1963; 2nd King’s – Haymarket – built 1705 – burned down 1789 – rebuilt 1793 and renamed Her Majesty’s in 1937 - see Her Majesty’s Theatre
Kingston Empire Theatres - 1910-1956 – also known as New Empire
Kingsway Opera House – 1911 – Stoll Theatre now pulled down
Kingsway Theatre – Great Queen Street, Holborn – 1882 opened as Novelty Theatre – renamed Folies-Dramatiques 1883-1888 became Jodrell – 1889 back to Kingsway – then New Queen’s Theatre 1890 and Eden Palace of Varieties 1894 – 1900 became Great Queen Street Theatre – 1908 was Kingsway again – 1932 became home of Independent Theatre Club – 1940 building damaged by bombing – demolished 1956
Lambs – supper club founded 1860s – 24 members met at Gaiety Restaurant and later Albemarle Hotel – survived until 1890s
*Landor Theatre - 70 Landor Road (Clapham North) - one of London's most atmospheric and intimate pub theatres
Leicester Square Theatre - 1930 - Odeon Leicester Square now stands on the site - bombed during blitz - 1931 presented variety shows and films, before becoming just a cinema
Lewisham Hippodrome – Catford – demolished
LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) – launched 1981 as biennial event
Linbury Studio - see Royal Opera House
Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre – Portugal Street – originally Lisle’s Tennis Court built in 1656 – 1660 enlarged for theatre – opened 1661 with Seige of Rhodes, Part I 1661 – closed 1744 and became barracks, auction room, Salopian China Warehouse – demolished 1848 for extension of Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons
Lincoln Theatre – built 1731 in Drury Lane; 2nd theatre built 1764 in some buildings in Kings Arms yard; 3rd theatre built 1806 in Kings Arms Yard – burned down 1892 – another built on same site 1893, now Theatre Royal – closed 1976 – closed and reopened as 482 seat theatre for touring companies
Lisle’s Tennis Court – see Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre
Little Angel Marionette Theatre – 1961 – childrens’ theatre
Little Drury Lane Theatre – see Olympic Theatre
Little Theatre – John Adam Street, Adelphi – 1910 (309 seats) –Lysistrata 1910 - theatre damaged by bombing 1917 – reopened 1920 – damaged again in WWII 1941 and demolished in 1949 - Autumn Fire 1926 (8 weeks)
Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain – founded 1946
Little Theatre in the Hay – see Haymarket Theatre
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) – established 1861
*London Apollo (formerly Labbatts) - (Hammersmith) Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith - 3485 seats (formerly Hammersmith Apollo
London Bubble – see Bubble Theatre Company
London Casino - see Prince Edward
*London Coliseum - (Charing Cross)- St. Martin's Lane - 1904 - London's largest theatre (2358) – has been music hall, opera house, TV theatre and cinema - since 1968 home of the English National Opera (formerly Sadler's Wells Opera) - Nijinsky Clown of God (Bejart)(currently closed for renovations - reopening 2004)- Cinderella(Tommy Steele)1958; English National Opera 2006 – see Colisseum
London Hippodrome – Westminster - 1900 - Joy-Bells 1919; Round in Fifty 1922 (471); Leap Year 1924 (471) - see Hippodrome – now other use as Talk of the Town
London Music-Hall - Shoreditch – see Griffin – Shoreditch High Street Music-Hall
London Opera House - Kingsway - company, which built its reputation on opera productions performed in English and is due to be relaunched summer 2004 after a 75 million dollar refurbishment, will be reviving such musicals as Bernstein's On the Town and West Side Story - planned is a new musical about the Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi for which the British pop group Asian Dub Foundation has been commissioned to write the score.
*London Palladium - (Oxford Circus)- Argyll Street – London’s largest theatre - built 1871 (2286 seats) as Hengler's Circus, 1871 reconstructed as Music-Hall (2325 seats) - changed to Palladium in 1910 – 1928 theatre used as cinema but back to theatre three months later – Crazy Gang 1930s - renamed London Palladium in 1934 - Swinging Down the Lane (Max Bygraves) 1959 (328); Babes in the Wood 1965; Barnum 1981 (Michael Crawford); Ziegfeld 1988; Stairway to the Stars 1989; Fred Astaire – His Daughter’s Tribute 2001; King and I - revival; Barnum; Singin' in the Rain; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat; Sinatra at the Palladium 2006;
London Pavillion - and The Trocadero, Piccadilly (both originally theatres) - famous music hall – began as song and supper room of Black Horse Inn in Tichborne Street - built 1859 as 2000 seat Pavilion Music Hall - converted to cinema in 1934 and became shopping centre in late 1980s – 2nd Pavillion opened same year – 1934 became a cinema and 1981 closed for demolition – now houses tacky shops and Rock Circus - Trocadero has been theatre, music hall and circus
London Pavillion - Tichborne Street – famous music hall built 1861 (2,000 seats) - demolished in 1885 and rebuilt in Piccadilly
London Symphony - 100th anniversary 2004 - began 1904 - played at Queen's Hall 1911
Lusby’s Music Hall - see Lusby’s Summer and Winter Palace
Lusby's Summer and Winter Palace - Stepney - 1848 to 1933 - from 1912 called Mile End Empire
*Lyceum Theatre - (Covent Garden/Charing Cross) Wellington Street, just off Strand – entertainment space here as early as 1765 – 1771 opened as exhibition and concert hall – 1775 converted to theatre – 1802 became 1st venue for Madame Tussaud - 1809 Drury Lane company moved here (1800 seats) – 1817 reopened as Royal Lyceum and English Opera House – 1830 theatre burnt down - 1830- 1816 renamed Theatre Royal English Opera; Royal Lyceum Theatre and English Opera House opened 1834-1904; 1902 partly demolished - rebuilt in 1904 as music hall with the 1834 facade retained - one of London's most historic theatres - 1938 theatre threatened with demolition - 1945 became a dance hall (Mecca Ballroom)- closed in 1982 – 1996 completely refurbished - 2075 seats - Jesus Christ Superstar; The Lion King
*Lyceum Theatre - see Royal Lyceum English Opera House 1839; Theatre Royal, English Opera 1839-1841; Theatre Royal, Lyceum 1844-1845; Lyceum Theatre 1847; Royal Lyceum Theatre 1848
Lyric Hall – see Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith - King St – original theatre built 1895 – 1972 sold for redevelopment and demolished but best parts were saved and new theatre using these became part of development
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre – King Street – opened as Lyric Hall 1888 – reconstructed and opened as Lyric Opera House 1890 – 1895 seating increased from 550 to 800 – 1918 renamed Lyric Theatre – Beggar’s Opera 1920 (1463 perf); 1933 theatre stood empty – 1946 reopened - Venice Preserved (John Gielgud,Paul Scofield) 1953; Grab Me a Gondola 1956; Share My Lettuce 1957; Valmouth 1958 (84); Hooray for Daisy 1960; New Cranks 1960; - closed 1966 - – demolished 1972 – some of Victorian plasterworks used in the 2nd Lyric Hammersmith, 20 yards away (450 seats) – restored old name and reopened in 1979 – also small studio theatre of 130 seats - Aladdin 1979; Nightingale 1982; Moll Flanders 1993; The Odyssey 2006;
Lyric Opera House – see Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
*Lyric Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus) Shaftesbury Avenue - 1888 - (950 seats) – oldest surviving theatre on Shaftesbury - La Dame aux Camelias (Elenora Duse) 1893; Floradora 1899 – became Lyric in 1918 – Make Believe 1918; Abraham Lincoln 1919 (466) - reconstructed 1933 - oldest of six surviving theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue - rear parts were built on the site of an anatomical theatre and museum - Strange Interlude; Victoria Regina 1937 (42 weeks); Winslow Boy 1946 (476); Little Hut 1950; Vortex (Dirk Bogarde) 1952; Irma La Douce 1958 (1512); Robert and Elizabeth 1964; Plaza Suite 1969; Battle of Shrivings (John Gielgud,Wendy Hiller) 1970 (73); How the Other Half Loves; Habeus Corpus 1973; Poor Horace, Blood Brothers 1983; Five Guys Named Moe 1990 (long run); Maddie 1997; The Night of the Iguana (Woody Harrelson) 2006; Smaller (Dawn French) 2006; Jan/05 - Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly in talks to sell some of his West End theatres. He currently owns eleven, making him the predominant West End theatre owner, but is considering selling The Apollo, The Garrick, The Duchess and The Lyric
*Lyttleton Theatre - 900 seats - see National Theatre – first of three theatres – 890 seats – 1976 – opened with Hamlet (Albert Finney) 1976
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Macdonald’s Hall - see Hoxton Hall
*Man in the Moon Theatre - 392 Kings Road – pub theatre in Chelsea, London (Sloane Square) – last play “Kicking Oscar’s Corpse” – closing after 20 years of fringe venues – Sept 2002
Manchester School – small group of regional playwrights who flourished at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester from 1908 but did not survive WWI
Marlborough Theatre – Islington – demolished
Marylebone Music-Hall – see Music-Hall, and Rose of Normandy Tavern
Marylebone Theatre – see West London Theatre
Maxine Elliott Theatre - Lure 1913
Mayfair Theatre - Stratton Street – part of Mayfair Hotel – 310 seats - opened in 1963 with Six Characters in Search of an Author, with Ralph Richardson; All in Love 1964; Beyond the Fringe moved here from the Fortune for rest of its long run - and sold in 1964 - since 1992 it had been used for conferences - reopened in May 2001 after 10 years - renovation - Philanthropist; Song of Singapore 2001
McDonald’s Music Hall - – also known as Hoxton Hall - 1863
Mecca Ballroom - see Lyceum
Medieval Drama - so called mystery plays most commonly produced in open air locales
Menier Chocolate Factory - South London theatre venue - former industrial building 1870s built as chocolate factory - Tick..Tick..Boom(05)
Mercury Theatre – Notting Hill Gate – 150 seats – opened 1933 – Amphitryon 1933; Murder in the Cathedral 1935 (1st London production) - used by Ballet Rambert - Playboy of the Western World 1939
Mermaid Theatre – Puddle Cock - originally a private theatre in the garden of a house – 1951 – opened with Dido and Aeneas 1951 - 1953 re-erected in London and permanent home opened in 1959 (500 seats) - in danger of demolition currently - The Mermaid's glory days under Bernard Miles are over thirty years ago, it is a tribute to the affection in which the City of London's first post-war purpose-built theatre is held by those who have worked there that so many well-known theatre personalities have raised their voices and fired off letters to the Corporation of London - in its defense - September 2001; Lock Up Your Daughters 1959; Virtue in Danger 1963; We’d Rather Switch 1969; Saint Joan 1969; Cowardy Custard 1972; Treasure Island 1973; Cole 1974; Point 1976; Side By Side By Sondheim (Millicent Martin,Ned Sherrin,Julie McKenzie,David Kernan) 1976 - transferred to Wyndhams 1976 (781);St. Joan - revival 1969; renovated 1981 with studio for children, Molecule Club (250 seats)- At their meeting last Tuesday (18th March, 2003), the Corporation of London planning committee decided to accept the revised plans for the site of which the Mermaid Theatre forms a part. This means that the site will be redeveloped without any replacement for Sir Bernard Mile's theatre, although there will be "compensation" of £6m to be paid by the developers to the Theatres Trust instead - no hope that the Mermaid Theatre will be saved - redevelopment is unlikely to begin soon as the property development market is depressed - no further moves to save the theatre are possible.
Metropolitan Music Hall – Edgeware Road – 1862 – was small concert hall attached to White Lion Inn – refurbished and reopened as Turnham’s Music Hall – renamed Metropolitan 1864 – rebuilt 1897 (1855 seats) – became tv studio – shut down 1962 – demolished 1963
Middlesex Music-Hall – Drury Lane – originally Mogul Saloon since early 19th Century – 1851 became Middlesex Music-Hall – reconstructed 1872, 1891 and 1911 opened as New Middlesex Theatre of Varieties (3000 seats) – closed 1919 – reopened as Winter Garden Theatre – site is now New London Theatre
Middle Temple Hall - built 1563-1573 as a meeting hall for the Middle Temple lawyers - opened 1573 by Queen Elizabeth I - damaged by bombs in World War II, subsequently repaired
Mikron – British narrowboat-based touring theatre company – founded 1972 – toured waterside pubs
Miles’s Musick House – see Music Hall and Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Mirror Theatre – see Holborn Theatre
Miss Kelly’s Theatre – see Royalty Theatre
Mogul Saloon – see Middlesex Music-Hall - first theatre on the site built 1848 as "Mogul Saloon" - also known as "Mogul Music Hall"- 1851 renamed "Middlesex Music Hall" - new theatre built 1891 as "Middlesex Theatre of Varieties" - 1911 rebuilt by Frank Matcham - 1919 interior rebuilding, renamed "Winter Garden Theatre". Closed in the 1930s - re-opened 1942 - closed 1959, demolished 1965. Also known as "Old Mo"
Monstrous Regiment – British women’s theatre company founded 1975
Moody Manners Opera Company – British touring company – founded 1898 – disbanded 1916
Mortimer’s Hall - see Hoxton Hall
Mountview Theatre School – 104 Crouch Hill – amateur group founded 1947 in derelict hall made into small theatre – Importance of Being Earnest 1947 - bad fire 1963 – renovations – performances presented in Mountview Theatre and studio theatre opened in 1971 named in honour of Dame Judi Dench
Musicals - history derived from Shakespeare and European operettas, Gilbert and Sullivan and from Broadway, Gershwin, Porter, Kern, followed by Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Frank Loesser; from late 1960s the likes of Hal Prince, Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett became kings, with Stephen Sondheim and in Britain Andrew Lloyd Webber
Music Hall/Variety - started early to mid 19th Century in pubs and song and supper rooms and gradually moved into theatres i.e. Coliseum, but most closed after World War I when cinema became a force to contend with
National Film Theatre - Plans for a £4.6m transformation of London's National Film Theatre have been revealed - complex - which will be rebranded as BFI Southbank - is due to reopen in February 2007
National Operatic and Dramatic Association – founded 1899
National Standard Theatre - Shoreditch – 1837-1940 – also known as Shoreditch Olympia, Royal Standard Public House and pleasure gardens, Royal Standard Theatre, New Standard Theatre, Standard Theatre, Olympia
National Theatre - see Royal National Theatre - winner of Regional Theatre Tony Award 1969 - - in 1976 moved to the South Bank and in 1982 the Barbican Centre opened as the new home for the Royal Shakespeare Company - Medea (John Gielgud, Judith Anderson, Marian Seldes) 1947 (214); Jumpers (Diana Rigg); Amadeus
*National Theatre Cottesloe - 1977 (25th Anniversary on London's South Bank October/01)(Waterloo) South Bank - 320 seats
*National Theatre Lyttelton - 1976(25th Anniversary on London's South Bank October/01) (Waterloo) South Bank - 900 seats
*National Theatre Olivier - 1976(25th Anniversary on London's South Bank October/01)(Waterloo) South Bank
National Youth Theatre – founded 1956 – childrens’ theatre - used Toynbee Hall; various venues – 1971 took over Shaw Theatre (510 seats)
New Albion Theatre, Poplar - Queen's Theatre, Poplar - opened 1856
New Ambassadors - formerly Ambassadors - 450 seats
*New Ambassador's - (Leicester Square) West Street – Hamlet (Tom Stoppard) 2006 - sold to Stephen Waley-Cohen, owner of St. Martin's & Victoria Palace - April 2007 - in June 2007 will be known as Ambassador's (as it had from 1913-1999)
New Arts Theatre Club – Cambridge Circus 1963
New Chelsea Theatre – see Royal Court Theatre
New Cross Boadway Theatre - 1897 to 1960s
New Cross Empire - demolished
New End Theatre – Day in Hollywood, Night in the Ukraine 1979
New English Opera House – see Royalty Theatre
New Holborn Theatre Royal - Holborn Theatre; Theatre Royal, Holborn 1869; Royal Holborn Theatre 1870; Mirror Theatre 1875-1880; Duke's Theatre
Newington Butts Theatre – Southwark, Surrey, about 1576 – in area of present Elephant and Castle
New Lindsey Theatre – Chrysanthemum 1956
New London Opera Company - 1946
New London Theatre – Drury Lane – designed by Sean Kenny – erected on site of many former theatres and music halls from early 9th Century – Frank Matcham theatre from 1910-11 until demolished for current building, including Winter Garden Theatre – auditorium on 2 levels (911 seats) 1973 – Unknown Soldier and His Wife 1973; Grease - 1977 to 1980 used as tv studios – 1981 returned to theatre with Cats 1981 – former New Theatre (St. Martin’s Lane) changed name to Albery; Blue Man Group 2006;
New Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith - see also Lyric Theatre Hammersmith - Wayward Way (Jim Dale) 1964
New Middlesex Theatre – Holborn – demolished
*New London - (Holborn or Covent Garden) - 167 Drury Lane - 1973 - (1106 seats) - theatres were here from 1663 - New Theatre of Varieties opened here in 1911 - later renamed the Winter Garden and demolished in 1965 - stands on the site of Middlesex Music Hall which was rebuilt in 1911 - renamed Winter Garden in 1919 - In 1965 redeveloped into the New London Theatre with offices, shops, and apartments - The Unknown Soldier and His Wife; Grease; Cats opened 1981 and still playing as the longest running show ever
New Players Theatre - Villiers Street - previous showcase for old-style music hall - reopening with Snooy! The Musical in July 2004
New Royalty Theatre – see Royalty Theatre
(New) Royalty Theatre - opened 1840 and closed in 1938
New Theatre - Queen of Scots (Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies,Laurence Olivier) 1934 (106); Seagull (Edith Evans,John Gielgud,Alex Guiness) 1936; Summer of the Seventeenth Doll 1957 (254); London Assurance (Donald Sinden,Judi Dench,Elizabeth Spriggs) 1970 (390)- transferred to Palace Theatre ,NYC;
New Theatre – St. Martin’s Lane - opened 1903 - see Albery – Rosemary 1903 - after bombing of Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells – both companies used the theatre – Sadler’s Wells until 1944 and Old Vic until 1950 - Oliver 1960; Jorrocks 1966; Anne of Green Gables 1969; Tyger 1971 – 1973 renamed Albery
New Theatre, Greenwich (New Theatre Greenwich Royal)
New Theatre of Varieties - see New London
New Victoria Cinema - see Apollo Victoria
New Victoria Palace – see Old Vic
New Watergate Theatre – Buccaneer 1953; Cranks 1955
New Wells Theatre - 1739 - Goodman's Field - theatre closed by magistrates 1747
Noel Coward Theatre - see Albery Theatre
Normansfield Hospital Theatre - 1868 – Hospital had chapel with little theatre – future uncertain
North London Colisseum - built in 1860s
Novello Theatre - see Strand Theatre – As You Like It 2006;
Novelty Theatre – see Kingsway Theatre
Odell’s Theatre – see Goodman’s Fields Theatre
Odeon Theatre Ealing - Atmospheric style - closed
Oldham Coliseum Theatre - Under the plans a new Oldham Coliseum Theatre would be built with space for Oldham Theatre Workshop; Designs for new theatre include building with two auditoria, one seating 585 people and a second seating 150
Old Stagers – performances closely associated with Canterbury Cricket Festival since 1842
*
*Olivier Theatre – largest of three National Theatre houses – 1165 seats – 1976 - see Royal National Theatre – Tamburlaine the Great (Albert Finney) 1976
Olympic Music Hall - Shoreditch – see Standard Theatre - 1907
Olympic Theatre - Aldwych – at the end of Wych Street, Strand, occupies site of old Craven House, near site of Australia House – opened as Olympic Pavilion 1805 housing circus acts and horsemanship in arena - reconstructed 1813 and became Little Drury Lane Theatre – became Olympic - burned down and rebuilt 1849 - rebuilt 1890 – theatre closed 1889 and again 1897 – derelict - demolished 1899 to make way for Kingsway and during reconstruction of the Aldwych
Olympic Theatre - Leicester Square – 1930 – also known as Leicester Square Theatre - now Odeon West End
One Person Shows - due to the arts funding cuts, we have got the likes of Joyce Grenfell, Beatrice Lillie, Maurice Chevalier, and the remarkable Ruth Draper (1930s and 1940s), readings of Dickens, Alec McCowan’s St. Mark’s Gospel, Simon Callow’s Shakespearian Sonnets; Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight; Ian McKellen’s Acting Shakespeare, Roy Dotrice’s Brief Lives, Julie Harris’ Belle of Amherst
*Open Air Theatre - Inner Circle - (Baker Street) Regent's Park – Queen Mary’s Garden - 1187 seats – 1933 opened with Twelfth Night – 1975 site reconstructed - 2007 is 75th Anniversary season
Opera Comique – East Strand and Holywell St – back to back with old Globe Theatre in Newcastle Street – 1870 with French company “Les Pres St. Gerais” – 1877 D’Oyly Carte took over – redecorated 1885 – 1899 closed and demolished 1902
Opera House – 1912 – Oscar Hammerstein built in 1911 – became a variety house and later became Stoll Theatre
*Orange Tree Theatre - considered off West End - 1 Clarence Square, Richmond, Surrey - founded 1971 in a room above the Orange Tree Pub - the new theatre opened in 1991 behind the facade of a Victorian school - this is their 30th Anniversary season (2001)
Other Place - see Statford-Upon-Avon – Royal Shakespeare Company’s Studio Theatre – presents plays in repertory
Oxford Music Hall - Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road - 1861 - rebuilt 1869, 1873 and 1893 - 1917 became Oxford Theatre - Better 'Ole 1917 (811 perf) - 1921 old hall converted to theatre - theatre closed 1926 and demolished 1927 - Lyons Corner House built on site
Paine’s Plough – British touring theatre company started 1975
*Palace Theatre - (Leicester Square/Tottenham Court Road) Shaftesbury Avenue - 1891 - (1400 seats) - Cambridge Circus - a London landmark opened as Royal English Opera House - renamed Palace Theatre of Varieties 1892 – present name in 1911 - Airs and Graces 1917; No No Nanette 1925; On Your Toes 1937; Zip Goes a Million 1951 (544); Much Ado About Nothing (John Gielgud,Peggy Ashcroft)Where's Charley 1958 (404); Flower Drum Song 1960 (600); The Sound of Music 1961 (2,385); Danny LaRue at the Palace 1970, Jesus Christ Superstar, Maid of the Mountain; Two Cities 1969; Song and Dance 1982; Jesus Christ Superstar 1972 (8 years); since 1985 home of Les Miserables; Whistle Down the Wind 2006;
Palace Theatre of Variety - see Palace
Palladium – 1910 - see London Palladium –
Pantomine - traditional Christmas shows based on fairy tales or children’s stories
Paragon Theatre – Stepney – demolished
Park Theatre – see Alexandra Theatre
Paul’s - Cathedral precinct, 1576 - playhouse of Shakespeare’s time
Pavilion Music-Hall – see London Pavilion
Pavilion Theatre – Whitechapel Road – 1928 – destroyed by fire 1856 – rebuilt 3500 seats – rebuilt again 1874 2500 seats and again 1894 – closed 1933 and stood empty – demolished 1961 as damaged by bombing World War II - Cochran's 1931 Revue (book and lyrics by Noel Coward) 1931 - demolished
*Peacock Theatre - (Holborn) Portugal Street - 1010 seats – London Opera House 1910 was demolished for this theatre – theatre orginally called Royalty - Snowman 1982; Yamato – Drummers of Japan 2006;
Pembroke’s Men – 1592 – Shakespeare wrote some of his plays for this company, but his connection ceased when he joined Chamberlain’s Men on their foundation in 1594
Performance Art - live art by featured artists
Philharmonic Hall - 1860 – three theatres built on this site – also known as Philharmonic Theatre, Grand Theatre Islington, Islington Empire
Phoenix Society – group founded 1919 to present plays by early English dramatists – existed for 6 years and staged 26 plays
*Phoenix Theatre - (Tottenham Court Road) Charing Cross Road - 1930 - (1012 seats) – opened with Private Lives 1930; Tonight at 8:30 1936; Browning Version; Harlequinade; Bloomsbury (53); Death of a Salesman; Quadrille 1952; Much Ado About Nothing (John Gielgud,Dorothy Tutin,Paul Scofield) 1952 (7 months); Sleeping Prince 1953; Canterbury Tales 1968 (2,082); Biograph Girl 1980; Blood Brothers 1983 ; Peg 1984; Are You Lonesome Tonight 1985; Into the Woods; Dancing at Lughasa; Blood Brothers returns to theatre for its 20th year; 2nd Phoenix Theatre – Drury Lane – see Cockpit
*Piccadilly Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus) Denman Street - opened 1928 with Blue Eyes (Evelyn Laye) - (1200 seats) – then became cinema (Singing Fool and Jazz Singer with Al Jolson) – back to theatre the next year – damaged by bombs – closed 1939 reopened 1941 - Blithe Spirit (Margaret Rutherford, Noel Coward) 1941; Macbeth (John Gielgud) 1942; Question of Fact (Paul Scofield,Gladys Cooper,Pamela Brown) 1953 (30 weeks); Romanoff and Juliet (Peter Ustinov)1956 (47 weeks); Man of Magic 1966; Vivat Vivat Regina 1970, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Richard II and Edward II (Ian McKellen); Clarence Darrow (Henry Fonda); Filumena (Judi Dench); Kafka’s Dick; I and Albert 1972; Pull Both Ends 1972; Streetcar Named Desire (Claire Bloom) 1974; Who Killed Santa Claus (Honor Blackman) 1970; Gypsy; Educating Rita; Piaf; Mack and Mabel; Mutiny 1985; Shop in the Name of Love 1988; Metropolis 1989; Moby Dick 1992; Piaf 1993; Swan Lake; Shockheaded Peter; Spend,Spend,Spend 1999; La Cava; Noises Off; My One and Only; Ragtime; Jumpers (revival) 2003; Jailhouse Rock; Guys and Dolls 2005
Pip Simmons Theatre Group – fringe theatre group
Pit Theatre - 240 seats
Pizza on the Park - 11 Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner – cabaret venue
Place - essentially a dance venue
*Players Theatre - opened 1867 and originally known as “The Arches” an early music hall - in 1936 opened as a private theatre club Playroom Six at 6 New Compton Street – 1927 – Peggy Ashcroft debut in One Day More 1927 - 1929 name changed – 1936 moved to King Street, Covent Garden – 1937 reopened as New Players – 1940 moved to 13 Albemarle Street – 1946 acquired part of Gatti’s-Under-the-Arches – Boyfriend 1953; Divorce Me, Darling 1964
Playhouse - Newington Butts - 1580 – demolished;
2nd *Playhouse Theatre - (Embankment) Northumberland Avenue - built 1882 as Royal Avenue Theatre (761 seats)(Portland Stone exterior remains) – opened with Madame Favart - 1905 theatre wrecked when part of Charing Cross Station collapsed and 6 people were killed and 20 injured – new theatre, the Playhouse, opened 1907 with 679 seats - 1920s managed by Gladys Cooper – 1951 became BBC studio – close to Hungerford Bridge footpath across Thames to South Bank and Charing Cross Station - 1975 was given up - renovated in 1987 - previously the Avenue Theatre - Arms and the Man - theatre has also been host to the Almeida Theatre and the Peter Hall Company - purchased by American producers Ted and Norman Tulchin 2002; The Creeper (Ian Richardson) 2006;
Plaza Regent Street Theatre Cinema - opened in the 1920's and closed July 2002
Pleasure Gardens of Marylebone - included atmospheric theatre - 1737-1777
Pleasure Gardens of Vauxhall - included atmospheric theatre
Poplar - Queens –
Poplar Hippodrome -
Poplar Town Hall -
Porter’s Hall – playhouse erected 1615 in precincts of Blackfriars, near Puddle Wharg – not used after 1618
Portman Theatre – see West London Theatre
Prince Charles - 1962 – Leicester Place - low budget cinema was originally legitimate for 3 year period
*Prince Edward Theatre - (Leicester Square/Tottenham Court Road) Old Compton Street – 1930 - (1650 seats) opened with Rio Rita (59 perf); Nippy 1930; Fanfare 1932– closed 1935 - rebuilt as London Casino (1936 to 1978), Folies Parisiennes 1936; during war was Queensberry All Services Club – Latin Quarter Revues 1945; Wish You Were Here 1953; then a cinema (1954 to 1974) – Cinerama 1954 - restored 1992 - has been theatre, cabaret, cinema and a club – reopened as Prince Edward in 1978 with long running Evita (almost 8 years); Chess 1986 (3 years); Anything Goes (3 years); Crazy for You (over 3 years); Children of Eden 1991; Hunting of the Snark 1991; Some Like It Hot (1992 - 3 mos); 1992 refurbished – reopened 1993 – Crazy for You; Martin Guerre 1996; currently Mamma Mia opened 1999 transferred to Prince of Wales after 5 years; Mary Poppins 2005
*Prince of Wales - (Piccadilly Circus) Coventry Street - opened 1884 as the Prince's Theatre (1133 seats) – opened with Breaking a Butterfly (Doll’s House) 1884 - became Prince of Wales in 1886 – 1937 building demolished; 2nd Prince of Wales opened 1937 (1139 seats) – see also Scala Theatre - Gaiety Girl 1893; See-see 1906 (152); Blue Lagoon 1920; Hamlet 1925; Harvey 1949; Fancy Free 1951 (369); Water Gipsies 1954; Summer Song 1956; World of Suzie Wong 1959-over 800 perf); Funny Girl; Come Blow Your Horn; Johnny the Priest 1960; King Kong 1961; Passion Flower Hotel 1965; Good Old Bad Old Days 1972; Smilin’ Through 1972; Mardi Gras 1976; Evening With Tommy Steele 1979 (414 days); Underneath the Arches 1981; Aspects of Love (1989 - 3 years); City of Angels; Copacabana 1994; Witches of Eastwick; Mamma Mia - Delfont Mackintosh Theatres' plans for the Prince Of Wales are for a major overhaul of the building with a glass-fronted tower that reverts to Robert Cromie's original 1937 design concept - auditorium will benefit from new bronze-coloured interior walls more comfortable seats and greater leg-room, while the bars and foyers will be expanded and refurbished in a manner to recreate the glamour of theatregoing in the 1930s - the theatre will reopen in Summer 2004; 3rd – Prince of Wales – Greenwich – 1855 – formerly Rose and Crown Music Hall, Parthenon, Crowders Music Hall, Parthenon Palace of Varieties, Greenwich Hippodrome
Prince's Theatre - see Prince of Wales –
Prince's Theatre - opened 1911 - see Shaftesbury Theatre, Prince of Wales, Shaftesbury Avenue; King Street Piccadilly, St. James- Coventry Street -
Princess's Theatre – destroyed by fire 1829 and rebuilt 1836 building in 73 Oxford Street known as Queen’s Bazaar – converted to theatre – remodelled and reopened in 1840 – Streets of London 1864 - theatre closed 1880 and reopened as Royal Princess’s – building became warehouse - Streets of London 1864; Royal Princess's Theatre; Fatal Wedding 1902 - closed 1902 - demolished 1931
Private Theatres – England – 1770-1790 – Cliveden – open air theatre – still extant; Wargrave – 1789 – 400 seats – demolished 1792; Brandenburgh House – 1793 – Hammersmith – in use until 1804; Wynnstay – 1771-1789; Blenheim Palace – Oxfordshire – 1787-89- converted greenhouse; Richmond House – 1787 – 150 seats; Chatsworth – Derbyshire – 1830 – oldest in existence; Burton Constable – Yorkshire – 1830-50; Tavistick House-London; Campden House – Kensington 1860s; Capethorne Hall, Cheshire 1870; Herkomer’s at Bushey, Hertforshire; Craig y Nos, Wales – still extant; Stansted, Essex; Buscot Park, Berkshire – still in use; Glyndebourne, Sussex – opera house; Seler’s theatre – Rosehill, Whitehaven
Promenade Performances - concerts where the audience can roam freely
Pub/Café Theatre - forerunner of the cabaret
Puddle Wharf Theatre – see Porter’s Hall
Punch’s Playhouse – see Strand Theatre
Purcell Rooms - South Bank Centre, London – cabaret venue
Putney Hippodrome - 1906 – now Odeon cinema
Q Theatre – on Brentford side of Kew Bridge – 500 seats – 1924 in converted hall – Young Person in Pink – over 1,000 plays presented here and over 100 of these were transferred to the West End i.e. Dial M For Murder – demolished 1958
Queen Anne’s Men – company formed in 1603 – played at the Curtain, and at the Red Bull until 1616 – some of the company went to new theatre at the Cockpit – company disbanded 1619
Queen Elizabeth’s Men – formed 1583 – company played at several inns used as theatres – the Bull, the Bell, and the Bel Savage and also at the Theatre, the Curtain, and the Rose – abandoned 1594 and replaced by Admiral’s Men
Queen Henrietta’s Men – performed at the Cockpit 1625 to 1636 – company disbanded 1636 when plague closed theatres, and replaced at the Cockpit by Beeston’s Boys
Queen’s Long Acre - 1867-1878
Queen’s Royal Opera House – Crouch End - demolished
Queen’s Theatre - 1704 – 1789 burned down and new one built 1790-91; 2nd Queens - *Queen's Theatre, Neal Street & Long Acre – erected 1849 as St. Martin’s Hall beside John Menzies' newsagent – used on numerous occasions by Charles Dickens reading from his own works - part of the outside walls still stand in Endell Street and Arne Street opened 1867 converted to 2nd largest theatre in London – opened with Double Marriage, but first success was Dearer Than Life 1868– name changed to National in 1877 - closed in 1879; 3rd Queens - Queen’s - *Queen's Theatre - (Piccadilly Circus) Shaftesbury Avenue - 1907 - (977 seats) – (see also Dorset Garden Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Scala Theatre) - built as twin to The Globe which it adjoins – first success 1908 with Belle of Brittany, and Potash and Perlmutter 1914 - damaged during blitz - exterior rebuilt 1950 - derelict until 1959 - Old Folks at Home (Marie Tempest) 1933 (204); Ages of Man; Otherwise Engaged; The Dresser; Stop the World I Want to Get Off (Anthony Newley) 1961 (485); Lady From the Sea (Margaret Leighton) 1961; Vanity Fair 1962; 12 Angry Men (Leo Genn) 1964 (99); Conduct Unbecoming 1969; What the Butler Saw (Ralph Richardson,Coral Browne) 1969 (101); Getting On 1971; Tommy 1979 (118); Conduct Unbecoming; Card 1973; Bordello 1974; Flowers for Algernon (Michael Crawford) 1979 (28); Matador 1991; Radio Times 1992; Lenny (Eddie Izzard) 1999; Les Miserables – 21st year
Questors Theatre - Matlock Lane, Ealing - largest amateur theatre - founded in 1929 – 1933 adapted disused chapel for its productions – new theatre opened 1964 (325-450 seats)
Raglan Music Hall - Lord Raglan Music Hall and Public House 1855-1878
Red Bull Theatre – Upper Street, Clerkenwell – originally an Inn used for yard plays – 1604 - adapted as permanent theatre in 1605 – occupied by Queen Anne’s Men until 1917 and then by other companies - renovated 1625 – 1661 theatre fell into disuse – demolished between 1663-65 (see also Inns)
Red Lion Playhouse – Stepney - England's first public amphitheatre opened in Whitechapel in 1567 with “Samson”
Regal - now Odeon, Cannon
Regency Theatre – see Scala Theatre
Regent Music Hall - 1861-1879
Regent’s Park – Open Air – Bashville 1983
Regent Theatre – Euston Road – 1310 seats – 1900 as Euston Music-Hall – became Playhouse 1922 – Body and Soul 1922 – 1932 became cinema
Richmond Theatre - built 1899 as "Richmond Theatre and Opera House" - 1902 renamed "Prince of Wales Theatre" - 1909 renamed "Richmond Hippodrome" - also known as "Theatre Royal, Richmond" and "The Theatre on the Green" - 1915 refurbished - 1975 restoration of foyer, seating changes - 1990-1991 refurbished; interior redecoration by Carl Toms - 840 seats
Ridiculusmus -
Ring – large octagonal structure – originally chapel on Blackfriars Road – 1783 became boxing ring and theatre-in-the-round – Henry V 1936; Much Ado About Nothing 1937; Merry Wives of Windsor 1937 - demolished after WWII – has been confused with nearby Rotunda
Riverside Studios – Crisp Road, Hammersmith – arts centre housing theatre, concerts, films, dance – originally an iron foundry on the banks of the Thames in Hammersmith - munitions factory during the war – was the largest BBC TV centre in Europe – vacated 1974 – centre opened 1976/78 - Invade My Privacy 1993; The Exonerated 2006
River Theatre - see Unicorn Theatre
River Walk Restaurant -
2nd Floor, Oxo Tower Wharf – cabaret venue -
Rose Theatre - Bankside, Surrey - built 1587 – halfway between Globe and Hope Theatres – 1592 Strange’s Men there, and from 1594 to 1600 the Admiral’s Men - lease expired in 1605 - see also Globe Theatre - campaign to protect and display the remains of the Rose theatre has been given a further boost - Mike Corfield, chief scientist for English Heritage, says the remains are far better preserved than had been expected - The Rose has been something of a poor relation to the Globe - recreated, a few yards from the Rose's site on the South bank of the Thames, and under the artistic direction of Mark Rylance -
Rose was more closely asociated with Christopher Marlowe than with Shakespeare, but was recreated for the film Shakespeare in Love - talk of it being erected close to the current remains of, and museum devoted to original Rose Theatre - Tonight (11 September 2003), for the first time since its closure in 1603, the Rose Theatre in the London borough of Southwark, site of Shakespeare's early career and the plays of Christopher Marlowe, will play host to a full theatrical production. At the archaeological site, discovered in 1989 and still being excavated, 2003 new staging of Marlowe's Tamburlaine The Great
Rose of Normandy Tavern – 1858 – Marylebone High Street – became Marylebone Music Hall – flourished until 1894 when closed as being unsafe
Rose Tavern – see Will’s Coffee House
Rotherhithe Hippodrome - 1899-1955 – also known as Tarriss Theatre
Rotunda – hall in Blackfriar's Road – sometimes confused with Ring (opposite side of road about 500 yards away) – 1790 opened as museum – from 1833-1838 was known as Globe Theatre – 150 seats – later Britannia Music Hall – closed 1886 - became warehouse – demolished 1945
Rotunda Assembly Room - Southwark -
Roundhouse – Chalk Farm Road – Camden Town – built 1847 to house trains and turn them around - became disused locomotive shed – taken over 1961 as Centre 42 - Catch My Soul 1968; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 1972; Big Sin City 1978; - closed May 2004 for refurbishing - reopens June 5/06 with Fuerzabruta 2006; Main House boasts a seating capacity of 1,800 and standing room for 3,300. The roof has been replaced and its central glass lantern restored, allowing natural light into the space for the first time since the 1860's; also includes Studio 42, a 150-person seated or 200 standing capacity studio theatre space; Undercroft, has been converted into rehearsal spaces and recording and video editing studios, providing opportunities for 10,000 young people a year to develop creative skills
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) – established 1904 – see Vanbrugh
Royal Adelaide Theatre – see Gatti’s
Royal Adelphi Theatre – see Adelphi
*Royal Albert Hall - concert hall, built 1867-1871 for the "Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences Corporation", on the former site of Gore House. Opened 1871 by Queen Victoria - named in honour of Queen Victoria's late husband, Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861). The Royal Albert Hall Organ (9779 pipes) is the second-largest organ in the U.K. (second only to the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Organ). 1995-2003 major renovation. Used for political and religious meetings, exhibitions, banquets, sports tournaments, balls, and classical and pop concerts, including the BBC's annual "Proms" summer concert series. Capacity: up to 5266 persons
Royal Albert Music Hall - Canning Town – 1876-1907 – also known as Imperial Theatre, Aquarium Theatre, Royal Aquarium Theatre, Victoria London
Royal Alexandra Theatre - opened in 1865 and closed in 1871
Royal Alfred Theatre – see West London Theatre
Royal Amphitheatre – see Astley’s Amphitheatre
Royal Aquarium Theatre – Victoria - see Imperial Theatre
Royal Artillery Theatre – Woolwich – built to take place of theatre constructed in old garrison church in 1863 – closed due to bomb damage – 1956
Royal Avenue Theatre – see Playhouse
Royal Brunswick Theatre – see Royalty Theatre
Royal Cambridge Music Hall - 1864-1936
Royal Camden Theatre - now Camden Palace – 1900-01 Camden High Street – currently nightclub – original seated 3000
Royal Circus – Blackfriars Road - see Surrey Theatre
Royal Coburg Theatre – see Old Vic
Royal Colosseum, Albany Street
Royal Court Theatre - Lower George Street,