Aldwych Theatre

Last updated

Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre 2.jpg
Aldwych Theatre in 2006
Aldwych Theatre
Address Aldwych
London, WC2
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′47″N0°07′07″W / 51.512948°N 0.118634°W / 51.512948; -0.118634
Public transit Underground no-text.svg Covent Garden
Owner James Nederlander
Designation Grade II
TypeWest End theatre
Capacity 1,200
Production Tina
Construction
Opened1905;119 years ago (1905)
Architect W. G. R. Sprague
Website
http://www.aldwychtheatre.com

The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. [1] Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. [2]

Contents

History

Origins

The theatre was constructed in the newly built Aldwych as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre, now known as the Novello Theatre. Both buildings were designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by W. G. R. Sprague. The Aldwych Theatre was funded by Seymour Hicks in association with the American impresario Charles Frohman, and built by Walter Wallis of Balham.

The theatre opened on 23 December 1905 with a production of Blue Bell, a new version of Hicks's popular pantomime Bluebell in Fairyland. In 1906, Hicks's The Beauty of Bath , followed in 1907 by The Gay Gordons , played at the theatre. In February 1913, the theatre was used by Serge Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky for the first rehearsals of Le Sacre du Printemps before its première in Paris during May. [3] In 1920, Basil Rathbone played Major Wharton in The Unknown.

From 1923 to 1933, the theatre was the home of the series of twelve farces, known as the Aldwych farces, most of which were written by Ben Travers. Members of the regular company for these farces included Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls, Ethel Coleridge, Gordon James, Mary Brough, Winifred Shotter and Robertson Hare. [4] In 1933, Richard Tauber presented and starred in a new version of Das Dreimäderlhaus at the Aldwych under the title Lilac Time. From the mid-1930s until about 1960, the theatre was owned by the Abrahams family. [5]

Post-war years and the Royal Shakespeare Company

In 1949, Laurence Olivier directed the first London production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire at the Aldwych Theatre. Starring as Blanche DuBois was Olivier's wife Vivien Leigh, who later won an Academy Award for the role in the 1951 film of Williams' play. Bonar Colleano co-starred as Stanley.

On 15 December 1960, after intense speculation, it was announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company, headquartered in Stratford-upon-Avon and under the directorship of Peter Hall (director) was to make the Aldwych Theatre its base in London for the next three years. In the event the company stayed for over 20 years, finally moving to the Barbican Arts Centre in 1982. The theatre was sold to the Nederlander Organization immediately afterwards. [6] Among numerous RSC productions staged at this venue were The Wars of the Roses , "Ondine" with Peter Hall's wife Leslie Caron, The Greeks, and Nicholas Nickleby , as well as the transfer of most of the Shakespeare productions that were first staged at the RSC's Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford. During absences of the RSC, the theatre hosted the annual World Theatre Seasons, foreign plays in their original productions, invited to London by the theatre impresario Peter Daubeny, annually from 1964 to 1973 and finally in 1975. For his involvement with these Aldwych seasons, run without Arts Council or other official support, Daubeny won the Evening Standard special award in 1972.

In 1990–91, Joan Collins starred in a revival of Private Lives at the Aldwych. The theatre is referred to in Julio Cortázar's short story Instructions for John Howell (Instrucciones para John Howell) in the anthology All Fires the Fire (Todos los fuegos el fuego).

21st century

Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage playing at the theatre in 2007 Aldwych Theatre London 2007.jpg
Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage playing at the theatre in 2007

Since 2000, the theatre has hosted a mixture of plays, comedies and musical theatre productions. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Whistle Down the Wind played until 2001, and Fame enjoyed an extended run from 2002 to 2006. From 2006 to 2011, it was the home to the British musical version of Dirty Dancing . [7] [8] Beautiful: The Carole King Musical ran from 2015 to 2017.

In March 2018, the theatre opened the world premiere of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical . [9]

Productions

Recent and current productions


Notes

  1. ↑ Aldwych Theatre listing details – English Heritage. Retrieved 3 April 2007
  2. ↑ "Aldwych Theatre Seating Plan". Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Lucas, John. Thomas Beecham: An Obsession With Music, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008, p. 94. ISBN   978-1-84383-402-1
  4. ↑ "Mr Ralph Lynn", The Times, 10 August 1962, p. 11
  5. ↑ Theatre Postcard site. Retrieved 19 March 2007
  6. ↑ "Aldwych sold for $2.1 million", The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 January 1982, p. 8. Retrieved 26 July 2013
  7. ↑ Winterman, Denise (24 October 2006). "The Time of Your Life". BBC News . Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  8. ↑ "The insider's guide to 'Dirty Dancing'". CNN. 25 October 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
  9. 1 2 Ali, Jade (9 September 2019). "TINA: The Tina Turner Musical extends its run until summer 2020". London Theatre Direct . Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Top Hat to transfer into the West End next April". The Stage. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Top Hat confirms October closure at Aldwych". whatsonstage.com. Whats on Stage. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Stephen Ward Will Premiere at West End's Aldwych Theatre in December". Playbill. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's STEPHEN WARD to Close at the Aldwych Theatre, March 29". broadwayworld.com. Broadway World. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Tutin</span> British actress (1930–2001)

Dame Dorothy Tutin, was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and a Dame (DBE) in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy West</span> English film, stage, and television actor

Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on stage and television, including stints in both Coronation Street and EastEnders, and Not Going Out, as the original Geoffrey Adams. He is married to the actress Prunella Scales; from 2014 to 2019, they travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Shakespeare Company</span> British theatre company

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour across the UK and internationally.

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn is an English theatre director. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, like Macbeth, as well as opera and musicals, such as Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hall (director)</span> English theatre, opera and film director (1930–2017)

Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in The Times declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled". In 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards, recognising achievements in London theatre, changed the award for Best Director to the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gielgud Theatre</span> Theatre in Londons West End since 1906

The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels.

Samantha Jane Bond is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. On television, she played "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom Outnumbered and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also originated the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Pennington</span> British actor (born 1943)

Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington is a British actor, director and writer. Together with director Michael Bogdanov, he founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 and was its Joint Artistic Director until 1992. He has written ten books, directed in the UK, US, Romania and Japan, and is an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is popularly known as Moff Jerjerrod in the original Star Wars trilogy film Return of the Jedi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wood (English actor)</span> English actor (1930–2011)

John Wood was an English actor, known for his performances in Shakespeare and his lasting association with Tom Stoppard. In 1976, he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Stoppard's Travesties. He was nominated for two other Tony Awards for his roles in Sherlock Holmes (1975) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1968). In 2007, Wood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Wood also appeared in WarGames, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Orlando, Shadowlands, The Madness of King George, Richard III, Sabrina, and Chocolat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchess Theatre</span> Theatre in London, England

The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrick Theatre</span> West End theatre in London, England

The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, was an early success at the theatre. In its early years, the Garrick appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama. The theatre later became associated with comedies, including No Sex Please, We're British, which played for four years from 1982 to 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Russell Beale</span> British actor (born 1961)

Sir Simon Russell Beale is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awards, and a Tony Award. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.

Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE was an English actor. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983 and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.

David Hugh Jones was an English stage, television and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of the United Kingdom</span> Overview of theatre in the UK

Theatre of United Kingdom plays an important part in British culture, and the countries that constitute the UK have had a vibrant tradition of theatre since the Renaissance with roots going back to the Roman occupation.

<i>The Comedy of Errors</i> (musical) Musical by Trevor Nunn and Guy Woolfenden

The Comedy of Errors is a musical with a book and lyrics by Trevor Nunn and music by Guy Woolfenden. It is based on the William Shakespeare play, The Comedy of Errors, which had previously been adapted for the musical stage as The Boys from Syracuse by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and George Abbott in 1938. The London production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1977.

William Dudley is a British theatre designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Gaumond</span> Canadian/British actor

Alex Gaumond is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker best known for his involvement in West End theatre. He plays series regular gendarme Caron, the chief of police in Sainte Victoire, in the Channel 5 television series The Madame Blanc Mysteries, starring Sally Lindsay.

<i>Stephen Ward</i> (musical) 2013 British musical

Stephen Ward is a musical with a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical is based on the 1963 Profumo affair involving the War Minister John Profumo and the socialite Stephen Ward who introduced Profumo to his mistress Christine Keeler, who was also involved with a Russian spy. The musical's world premiere was in London's West End at the Aldwych Theatre in 2013.

<i>Tina</i> (musical) 2018 jukebox musical

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Tina Turner and depicting her life from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into a rock 'n roll superstar. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, the musical had its world premiere on 17 April 2018 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The Broadway production opened on 7 November 2019.

References

Nearby tube stations

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.