Shaftesbury Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shaftesbury Theatre | |
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| The theatre's current production is Hairspray | |
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| Address | |
| City | |
| Designation | Grade II |
| Architect | Bertie Crewe |
| Owned by | The Theatre of comedy Company |
| Capacity | 1,400 seat |
| Type | West End Theatre |
| Opened | 27 December 1911 |
| Previous names | New Prince's Theatre Prince's Theatre |
| Production | Hairspray: The Musical |
| www.shaftesbury-theatre.co.uk | |
| Coordinates: | |
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.
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[edit] History
The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New Prince's Theatre, becoming the Prince's Theatre in 1914. It had a capacity of 2,392 and a stage 31' 10" wide by 31' deep.
The Prince's was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue, and is located near New Oxford Street, perhaps explaining the many gaps between performances in its early years. It had considerable success with an 18 week season of Gilbert and Sullivan, in 1919. These became a regular attraction at the theatre, interspersed with runs of theatre productions transferred from other venues. Basil Rathbone appeared at the Prince's Theatre in May 1933 when he played Julian Beauclerc in a revival of Diplomacy.
The theatre was sold to EMI in 1962, and became the Shaftesbury Theatre the following year.
Part of the ceiling fell in on 20 July 1973, forcing the closure of the long-running musical Hair, after 1,998 performances. The theatre almost fell victim to redevelopment, but a campaign by Equity succeeded in having the theatre placed on the 'Statutory List of Buildings of Special architectural or Historic Interest', and the theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in March 1974.[1]
The theatre reopened with West Side Story a year later. During the redevelopment of the Royal Opera House in nearby Covent Garden in the late 1990s the theatre was booked as an alternative London venue for performances including Benjamin Britten's Paul Bunyan.
[edit] Present day
The venue is currently owned by The Theatre of Comedy Company, who have owned the venue for the past two decades.
In March 2006, the 1,400 seat theatre underwent a large refurbishment, with the entire stalls and dress circle being reseated, redecorated and the front of house areas refurbished. Between 1 May and 1 September 2007, it played host to a reworked revival production of Fame: the Musical to fill the summer gap, prior to the European premiere of the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash Hairspray: the Musical opened in October 2007.
[edit] Notable productions
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1960s)
- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1960s)
- Little Me (1960s)
- Hair (September 20, 1968 - July 20, 1973)
- They're Playing Our Song (October 1, 1980 - May 8, 1982)
- Follies (July 1987 - February 1989)
[edit] Recent and present productions
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (20 October 1992 - 17 July 1993) by John Kander and Fred Ebb, starring Chita Rivera
- Carousel (16 September 1993 - 27 March 1994) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
- Out of the Blue (23 November 1994 - 10 December 1994) by Shun-Ichi Tokura, Paul Sand and David Gilmore
- The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol (25 January 1995 - 25 February 1995) by John Berger, Simon McBurnley and Mark Wheatley
- Harvey (18 May 1995 - 17 June 1995) by Mary Chase
- Eddie Izzard: Definite Article (10 October 1995 - 16 December 1995) by Eddie Izzard
- Return to the Forbidden Planet (19 December 1995 - 13 January 1996) by Bob Carlton
- Tommy (5 March 1996 - 8 February 1997) by The Who and Des McAnuff
- Sinderella Comes Again (22 April 1997 - 3 May 1997) by Jim Davidson and Bryan Blackburn
- Rent (12 May 1998 - 30 October 1999) by Jonathan Larson
- Lautrec - The Musical (6 April 2000 - 17 June 2000) by Charles Aznavour and Dee Shipman
- Napoleon: The Musical (17 October 2000 - 3 February 2001) by Timothy Williams and Andrew Sabiston
- Baddiel and Skinner: Unplanned (17 April 2001 - 12 May 2001) by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner
- Peggy Sue Got Married (20 August 2001 - 13 October 2001) by Arlene Summer, Jerry Leichting and Bob Gaudio, starring Ruthie Henshall
- Umoja: Spirit of Togetherness (15 November 2001 - 6 February 2002) by Todd Twala, Thenbi Nyandeni and Ian von Memerty
- 125th Street (17 September 2002 - 11 January 2003) by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson
- Calamity Jane (26 June 2003 - 20 September 2003) by Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, and Phil Park, starring Toyah Willcox
- Thoroughly Modern Millie (21 October 2003 - 26 June 2004), starring Amanda Holden and Maureen Lipman
- Bat Boy: The Musical (27 August 2004 - 15 January 2005) by Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming and Laurence O'Keefe, starring Deven May
- The Far Pavilions - The Musical (24 March 2005 - 17 September 2005), starring Kulvinder Ghir
- High Society (1 October 2005 - 21 January 2006), starring Jerry Hall
- Daddy Cool - The Musical (15 August 2006 - 17 February 2007) by Frank Farian, starring Michelle Collins, Javine Hylton and Harvey Junior
- Fame: The Musical (4 May 2007 - 1 September 2007) by Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes, starring Ian Watkins and Natalie Casey
- Hairspray: The Musical (11 October 2007 - ) starring Michael Ball, Leanne Jones, Mel Smith (replaced by Ian Talbot in January 2008), Ben James-Ellis, Tracie Bennett, Adrian Hansel and Rachael Wooding, by Mark O'Donnell, Thomas Meehan, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
[edit] References
- ^ English Heritage listing details accessed 28 April 2007
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 140-1 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
- Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, p.1184.
[edit] Nearby Tube Stations
[edit] External links
- Thisistheatre.com - Shaftesbury Theatre
- Theatre History
- Shaftesbury Theatre
- Scenes from the 1921-22 D'Oyly Carte season at the theatre
